Meeting the Others
by RacRules
Summary: After joining the Disney Princesses and Princes, Tiana and Naveen interact with the other characters in weekly meetings. What sort of adventures will arise? Chap. 15; Its the final showdown between the true and fake royals! Who will win?
1. Chapter 1

Before this story starts, this is PARODY. Its meant to be funny.

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Tiana opened the door to Cinderella's castle. As the new Disney Princess, she was finally allowed to join their get-togethers. It was one of the largest buildings she had ever seen, with tall, looming white towers that dwarfed even Naveen's castle. The size almost overwhelmed her, making her feel very small. Who were these girls!? Cinderella wasn't supposed to be born into royalty, was she? Did she really marry a prince with this type of bank account?

She stepped in the front gate, only to be immediately greeted by a tall butler with a long, pointed nose held up in the air. His clean, strait tux could have only been silk, something Tiana found a bit intimidating. If the _butler_ wore a suit this expensive, what could the _royals_ possibly be dressed in?

"This way, Madame." He said before turning on his heels and leading her away.

"Wow. Fancy." She mumbled, following closely. She had a hard time keeping up due to her eyes always up at the high ceilings painted with golden birds and trees and diamond embellished chandeliers. The Disney Princesses were not short on cash.

"In this room, Madame." The butler said, opening an extravagant pearly white door. Tiana couldn't wait to see what the room must look like, but she never got the chance. Inside where the princesses, all dressed in the fluffiest, fanciest dresses she had ever seen. Adorned with jewels and silk and satin gowns, the princesses all joked and socialized like this was completely normal. Tiana glanced down at her own dress. Just a few minutes ago the smooth dark green fabric and form fitting shape seemed so elegant. Now it didn't seem much more than servant's wear.

Timidly she stepped in. All at once, the group of princesses turned to stare at her. One, a blonde dressed in a ridiculously poofy blue gown, stepped forward.

"Welcome, friend, I'm Cinderella. But please, call me Ella," she said in a voice so peppy and enthusiastic it made Tiana raise an eyebrow. Was this girl for real? "It is so nice to finally have a new edition after all these years. That is, after Giselle was unable to join."

"Oh, yes, how unfortunate." Said a black haired girl in a dress of red, blue, and yellow, colors Tiana didn't really think went together. The girl's voice was extremely operatic, maybe annoyingly so. However, what bothered her more was the fact that this girl only seemed to be in her early teens! Aren't all the Disney princes supposed to be married? "I'm Snow White, by the way. Pleased to meet you, friend."

"But I get to stay the only redhead, at least!" sang a girl who looked a little older then Snow White, but not by much.

"No one likes a braggart, Ariel." giggled Cinderella. Tiana's eyebrow went up a little farther. What did she get herself into?

The last princess in the group stepped forward to shake her hand. This girl at least had a semi-functional dress, but the same over-the-top blond hair. "Aurora, friend, and oh! You haven't told us your name!"

"Oh, how silly of us!" Snow White cooed, sending the rest strait into a giggle fit. Tiana stood, an awkward laugh the only thing escaping from her lips.

"Uh…" She finally said. Four eager faces stared at her. "My name is Ti-Tiana."

"Tiana!" They all shouted, surrounding her at once. Tiana let out a little cry for help when they all leaped, shooting question after question about her, her kingdom, and her husband. All Tiana could do was gawk.

"Girls, one at a time!" Cinderella said happily. "I'll ask the first question. So, Tia, what is _your_ signature color?"

"Well, uh…" Tiana looked at her expectant face. Signature color? "I…uh… wear green most of the time now…"

"Ooooh, green!"

"How nice!"

"How unique!"

"How festive!"

"My turn!" Snow White piped. "What does your _prince _look like!?"

"Oh, yes!"

"Tell us!"

"Is he handsome?"

Tiana rocked back on her heels. She took a step back from the wall of girls, each smiling from ear to ear. She fumbled for her hand bag, taking out a picture of Naveen.

"How wonderful!"

"No wonder you are in love!"

"He is absolutely rav-"

"Wait a minute!" Tiana shouted. The princesses stared in shock. "How could you possibly say 'no wonder you are in love' when you've only seen a picture of him!?"

"What else would you need?" Cinderella asked, confused.

"Um, his personality…his intelligence…"

The princesses gave her blank looks.

"Never mind this, you guys are all insane." Tiana turned to go, but in the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of gold. She glanced over, only to see another one.

_Great. There's more of them. _ She took another step before stopping in her tracks. Wait, was that princess…

Reading?

She spun around, finding the girl sitting the the back corner of the room. Sure enough, her nose was in a book. At the same table sat a pretty Asian girl, a Middle Eastern girl, and an Indian princess chatting it up. Their hair was mostly functional (though the Middle Eastern and Indian princesses must have had pretty expensive care products) and their outfits plain, except, of course, for the bookworm. Tiana rushed over as fast as her heels could take her.

"Uh, can I join you?" She asked timidly. The last princess attack had left her a little fearful of strange girls.

"Oh, sure." said the Asian. "I'm Mulan. I see you've already met the, uh, others." Tiana glanced over to the "others," who had obviously moved on to a brand new topic that had something to do with duets.

"Well, you guys seem plenty normal." Tiana said before she thought. "Uh, I mean-"

"Don't worry about it. Pocahontas." Tiana shook her hand. She smiled. Tiana wanted to ask how she gets her hair so long without it becoming made of split ends, but thought better of it.

"Belle." Said the book girl. "I'd introduce myself better, but I'm at the good part."

"Jasmine." Said the last.

"Tiana." She said. "Um, can I ask something?"

"What?" Mulan said.

"Why are you guys so much more…um…"

"Because we were made in a time where Disney couldn't be quite as…well, you know. Happy little sing song girl." Belle replied.

"Except for Ariel. She was a little behind." Jasmine added.

"Same reason you, Pocahontas, Jasmine, and I are…well…" Mulan shrugged her shoulders.

"Say no more." Tiana said. Belle giggled.

"Imagine how I felt!" Jasmine said, "I was the first to be…well, you know. It was a little awkward my first meeting."

"I was the first to have a life outside our husbands!" Belle pointed out.

"I was the first to have saved my entire country!" Mulan smiled, "Actually, I still am!"

"_I_ saved New Orleans from going to Hell!" Tiana said.

"_Really_?"

"Tell us, please!"

As they shared stories, Tiana couldn't help but think this was way better than having a poofy dress. She may want to come back to a few more of these meetings.


	2. Chapter 2

Ya'll requested it, so I gave it. I'm probably going to turn this into a series of one shots.

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**Story 2: Naveen's First Meeting**

Naveen hummed softly to himself as he flounced up the steps of the Beast's Castle. He had been to France multiple times in his life, but for some reason he never noticed the enormous stone castle in the woods. You would think someone would have pointed it out to him. Well, then again, he didn't exactly use to come to France for the architecture…

Shaking it off, he knocked on the door. A small, round man opened the door, a strait mustache on his chin like the hands of a clock.

"Hello, your highness, I assume you are here for the Disney Prince meeting?" The man asked, "I'm Cogsworth-" he paused when he noticed Naveen trying (and failing) to contain his laughter. "And. I. Will. Lead. You. To. The. Room. _Sir…"_ the last word sounding rather like a growl.

"Ah, Cogsworth, loosen up! The man is only enjoying life, eh?" Said a much thinner man, grabbing Naveen by the arm, "Come, sir, this way."

"Uh, okay…" He said nervously, following. He was led to a towering door in the middle of the hall, having to be at least fifteen feet tall. Glancing up to the top, he wondered what kind of room could be beyond a door like that.

When the doors opened, they revealed a breathtaking ballroom. Incredibly high ceilings were painted with angels and golden skies, a sparking diamond chandelier providing the light. The other end was adorned with ceiling-high windows leading out to a dark patio.

Naveen finally looked down to see...well, not the most masculine bunch. Dressed in mostly medieval to early 1700s suits, they looked rather ridiculous (Naveen himself was in his signature newsboy outfit, preferring it to his own cheesy prince lily pad ensemble)

There were a few decent ones, though; there was a really buff Asian guy that Naveen decided he did not want to cross talking to a young Middle Eastern kid dressed as traditional Arabian royalty. An almost as buff blonde man with a gun strapped on his back was on the other end of the room. Naveen hoped he didn't have that gun for a reason.

"Are you Prince Naveen?" Said a long haired man approaching him. "I'm Prince Adam."

Naveen gave him a blank stare.

"…The Beast."

"_Ohh…_well, yes, I am Prince Naveen of Maldonia. I—why are you all laughing?" He glared at the other princes, who were chuckling to themselves.

"I apologize, dear sir," said a rather prissy man with short black hair, "It's just…your accent…"

"Yes, what Charming said," Said Adam, "Its rather…unusual."

"Why? It's my native country's. Actually, why do you all have American accents? I mean, none of you are from the US…"

"Doesn't everyone have a voice like this?" asked one of the older princes.

"Uhh…no." Naveen sighed. "Bea—I mean Adam, you're from France, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"Then why don't you have a French accent? I mean, one of your servants does, yes?"

Adam stared at him for a long time. "I…I don't know." He furrowed his eyebrows, thinking.

"Let's change the subject." One of the princes said, "Let's talk about our wives!"

"Oh yes, of course!"

"What else would we do?"

"Okay…" Naveen said. He noticed the buff Asian and blond guys looked about as interested as he was. A bunch of guys getting together to talk about their _wives_? What _was_ this strange land?

"Naveen, what was the song _you_ sang when you first looked into the eyes of your beloved?" Asked one man. "My name is Phillip, by the way."

"Um…I kind of didn't sing…really."

"You _DIDN'T_?" Said a prince Naveen hadn't noticed before. "How did you tell her you had fallen deeply in love at the first sight or her lovely face?"

"Who are you?"

"The Prince."

"The Prince of what?'

"The Prince."

"I know, but the Prince of _what_?"

"_The Prince_."

"_The Prince of what!?_"

"The Prince! I'm The Prince!"

"THE PRINCE OF WHAT!?" Naveen shouted in frustration. The Prince slipped back, started.

"The Prince. It's my name!"

"Wait," Naveen cocked his head, "You name is actually just 'The Prince'?"

"Yes!"

"Oh." The Prince of Maldonia smiled weakly.

"Naveen," said Phillip, "Still, you surely know how it feels to look at the first woman you were ever, ever with and know, just _know_, that she is the one."

"First woman I was ever with?"

"Well of course, you wouldn't have actually seen other women before you met your True Love, did you? That's just ridiculous!"

"Uh…." Naveen rubbed his neck. "Define 'seeing other women.'"

"Are you trying to say that you were in love _before_ you met her!?" The Prince exclaimed, all the others with the same look of surprise.

"Love, no." At least that part was true. "But you seriously can't be telling me you hadn't…you know…_been _with another girl before you met your wife. I mean, that's just crazy. We're all guys, no?" Naveen laughed, expecting them to join him. However, their looks of surprise quickly changed to disgust.

"Does your _wife_ know?" Charming asked.

"Oh, trust me, she knows. Tiana doesn't care, though."

"Well, you should be thrilled she showed you that kind of mercy." Said another black haired man.

"Who are you?" He asked

"Eric."

Naveen raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you the one who almost married the Vanessa woman? The one that turned out to be the witch?"

Eric's jaw dropped. "How do you know that?"

"Tiana's with the Disney Princesses, remember?"

The rest of the Princes turned to look at Eric, who looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Naveen smirked.

"I was under a spell, all right?" He said timidly.

"Men," Adam said, "We all have things we're not proud of. I was not a model citizen when I was turned into the Beast. I am afraid I did not treat my current wife with all the respect she deserves."

The princes nodded, and resumed talking about how gorgeous their wives are. Naveen slumped over in boredom. That is, until Adam took his shoulder and walked him away.

"Is there a problem?" Naveen asked.

"No. I just thought you should meet the other princes." Adam laughed to himself, "You gave them quite a surprise over there. You've really been with other women?"

"That is an understatement." Naveen mumbled.

"Well, you _are_ a twentieth century boy. Who knows how they act?" Adam frowned. "Actually, I guess I can't be talking. I was a bit of a spoiled child."

"I've heard."

"Hello." Said the Asian man Naveen noticed earlier. "General Shang."

"A general? Not a prince?"

"No. Is that a problem?" Shang asked, stepping forward.

"No! No problem at all!" Naveen exclaimed, jumping back. Shang nodded in response. _N_o_t exactly the loosest guy in the world._ Naveen thought.

"Eh, stop scaring the kid, Shang." said the blonde man, crossing his arms.

"Maybe you should stop carrying that gun to meetings, John." He replied. "That will scare him more than anything I would do."

"Guys, let's not fight." Said the Middle Eastern boy, who looked maybe a bit younger than Naveen. "Aladdin, at your service." He said to him. "They get a little testy at each other sometimes. Which is bad, since they are also the biggest."

"Battle of the testosterone, eh?" Naveen joked. They looked blankly at him. Naveen was getting a little tired of odd looks.

"Excuse him, he's from a much different time period than the rest of us." Adam told the others. They nodded, almost seeming like in pity.

"So…are you guys like them? With the…singing, and all that?" Naveen asked. They shook their heads.

"The only song I sang was a song about shaping up the men into model soldiers." Shang replied. _Wow. Pretty manly_. Naveen thought. Maybe a little too much. Shang was a bit intimidating.

"He was also shirtless throughout the entire thing." Aladdin smirked, leaning against a marble column.

"Oh…wow, I guess." Naveen said. Even Shang had embarrassing moments.

"I sing a lot,' Aladdin admitted, "but not about girls…except for one song. It was a duet."

"I sing too." Naveen said. "About girls. But…"

"Not about your wife." John said amused. "I heard the little conversation you had with the others."

"Oh, yeah…" Naveen rubbed the back of his neck again. "They were just a tad bit horrified, weren't they?"

"Uh huh." Aladdin put his arm around Naveen. "But don't worry. They'll get used to you being a former womanizer."

"Uh, wow, thanks."

"Well, we certainly learned…a lot about each other in this meeting," Adam said, "Why don't we call it a night?"

As the princes filed out of the ballroom, Adam stopped Naveen. "Don't worry, Aladdin is right. You're a little different right now, but don't worry."

"Alright."

"Do you need me to call a carriage for you?"

"No, thank you. I'll take the car."

"Car?" Adam asked. "What's a car?"


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Philip Kippel for the awesome idea for this chapter. It will discuss the continuity of the cheap-quels.

Again, this is PARODY.

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Tiana started really enjoying the meetings. She and Belle were becoming good friends, even visiting each other outside of meetings. She still avoided interaction with the older princesses, and they didn't seem to mind. Belle acted as a bit of a diplomat between the two groups, being good at communicating with both types of princesses.

This particular meeting started as usual, but halfway through there was an interruption during tea.

"Mail time!" Cinderella sang over the room. All of the princesses cheered with delight, mail time being the only thing they all enjoyed. Tiana, having never been to a mail day before, simply smiled.

The servants passed out the girls letter bags. Some had more letters than others; it usually depended on the popularity of the princess.

"It's okay, Pocahantas." Belle patted the woman's shoulder, trying to hide her own generous pile.

"I know. I'm not one of the really popular ones." She smiled at her small pile of letters. "I do appreciate the letters I do get."

"At least you're not me," Jasmine groaned, opening another one of her own letters. "Most of my mail comes from teenage boys. I think it's my outfit."

"I don't get too much," Mulan said, "But most of mine comes from older girls."

"Wow, Tiana, your bag is _stuffed!"_ Belle exclaimed. Tiana looked to see a servant handing her a bag practically bursting with mail.

"Whoa," She pulled it onto her lap, losing a few letters to the floor in the process. Pocahantas picked them up for her. "Thanks." She said, opening her mail. "A lot of these are complimenting me on being such a good role model, and being the really first feminist Disney Princess."

"What am I, a chicken?" Mulan said.

"And a whole lot about my race." Tiana sighed, "Also asking what the heck kind of race Naveen is."

"Well, that's easy," Belle said, "He's uh…uh…what _is _he, Tiana?"

"I haven't the slightest clue." Tiana shrugged, "It almost as if he was specifically designed so that you can't figure out what he is, yet people still act like he's white or black or any other specific."

"People are silly." Jasmine rolled her eyes. However, their conversation was interrupted by a loud cry from the other end of the room. The five girls spun their heads around to see the source of the outburst.

"Who on Earth is Melody!?" It was Ariel, a shocked look on her face as she looked at a letter in her hand.

"What's wrong, Ariel?" Cinderella asked, taking the girl's arm.

"This letter is asking me about Melody, my daughter. I don't _know_ any Melody! Why on Earth would they believe I knew a Melody!?" Ariel looked as if she was about to cry, her hands shaking. Tiana wasn't sure why she was taking this so hard, but it obviously meant a lot to her.

"It's okay, honey," She said, "It was probably just a mistake."

"Yes, Ariel, Tiana is right," Cinderella cooed to the young princess, "These letters say all sorts of strange things. Why, last time I got a letter asking how my stepsister's relationship with the baker is going. I hadn't the slightest clue what it was talking about!"

"I get letters asking why I completely abandoned my character during Christmas." Belle added, frowning, "You know, like instead of acting cold towards the Beast when he was treating me like rubbish, I made him gifts and tried to get him a Christmas tree? I never did that! Why would I?"

"This is very odd." Pocahantas rested her chin on her fist in thought. "I too get letters accusing me of doing things I never did. What could be causing all this?"

Mulan smirked, resting on the back of her chair, "I myself must have missed the wedding, because I don't remember marrying Shang. Or telling him about Mushu, for that matter."

"Mushu?" The rest of the princesses asked.

"Uh…forget I said that."

"We must get to the bottom of this." Aurora put her hands on her hips. "I don't have any silly rumors going around about me—"

"Neither do I." Snow White piped, a large smile on her face.

"But I don't want such lies told about my friends!"

"I second that." Tiana said, raising her hand. "Does anyone want me to send Louis out to threaten whoever sent you those letters?"

The princesses all looked at her in horror. Except for Mulan, who began to agree before she saw the other's reaction and decided against it.

"I say." Cinderella said, shaking her head in shock.

"Never mind." Tiana slumped in her seat.

"The most important thing," Belle announced, "Is that we know the truth. Nothing else matters, right?"

"I'd still rather people not accuse us of things we never did." Jasmine said, crossing her arms. "I mean, from the sound of your story, Belle, yours makes that whole idea that you and Adam's relationship supports domestic violence practically true."

"That's right," Belle replied, placing her palm to her face, "I really didn't fall in love with him until he was kind to me, but the way they say it it's the opposite."

"Louis is still available if you want him." Tiana perked up.

"What we should do," Cinderella said, "Is be strong. We cannot change what others are saying about us, but we can change how we react to it. If we ignore it, perhaps it will go away. Even if it doesn't, we do not have to give in."

"That was…that was very nicely spoken, Cindy," Tiana smiled. The woman nodded, grinning.

"Thank you, Tiana, I'm glad you think so." She replied. Tiana smirked in thought. Could Cinderella really be more than just a blonde airhead? As Cindy sat down to comfort the still shaken Ariel, Tiana turned around to see Belle looking at her.

"She's actually a pretty good person," She said, as if reading her mind. "She may not make quite as large as impression on us, but to the less tough ones she's like a mother. She is very good with taking care of people."

"Oh." Tiana looked up to see Pocahontas, Jasmine and Mulan both nodding at her.

"They're all good people." Mulan said, "A little sugary and not all that, ah…sturdy, but sweet."

"I just hope the men aren't having the same problems we're having." Jasmine snarked.

* * *

"When did I have a singing organ!?" Adam cried in frustration.


	4. Chapter 4

**Story 4; The Ball**

"I'm not sure to be filled with excitement or filled with dread." Naveen said, holding his golden-bordered invitation. He and Tiana sat on their bed; his wife tucked under one arm.

"Aren't you the one who is always trying to get to me dances?" She asked. Prince Adam had invited them to the Disney Princess and Prince annual ball held at his castle. Some of the princesses, like Cinderella and Belle, were quite excited about it. Others, like Mulan, were less so.

"I'm still not used to these European style parties." Jasmine sighed when the princesses received their own invitations at the last meeting. She was lying sideways on the couch, her black hair tucked over her shoulder.

"Me neither. The dancing is so different from mine." Pocahontas agreed.

"I don't dance _at all," _Mulan groaned. "Usually my kind of body movement involves physically harming people."

"I don't think we need to see any of that." Tiana said, patting her shoulder.

"Oh come on, girls!" Belle chimed, "It'll be so much fun! There will be dancing and food, plus everyone will finally be seen in their best dresses! Tiana, we haven't seen yours!"

Tiana glanced down at her short green dress. It's true; unlike most of the Western princesses, she didn't wear her ballroom dress to meetings. She didn't like wearing it too much; the shorter one was much easier to move around in. Plus, she thought the luster was lost a little if they always saw it. The poofy, fancy dresses the other girls wore no longer meant anything to her, and she doubted they would at the ball.

"Oh, Belle," Cinderella squealed, "I have to thank you so much for hosting this year! Charming was quite hesitant after the mess that happened in our ballroom last year."

Jasmine had told Tiana the story. The dogs had followed Snow White's animal-charming singing into the ballroom and wreaked havoc on the food tables, sending food everywhere. It took an especially enchanting tune to get them to calm down again, and by then the damage was already done. Tiana actually kind of wished she had been there.

"No problem!" Belle grinned, showing off a set of perfect white teeth. "The pleasure is all mine."

Belle and Cinderella walked off, giggling and whispering about music and decorations and all sorts of other things.

"I have to say," Pocahontas, "I've never seen Belle so much like the older princesses like when she talks about balls. Common passion, I presume."

"I know you guys are going to want me do wear my white-faced pretty girl look to the ball again," Mulan snapped, "But I'm not doing it."

"But you look so _gorgeous_." Jasmine said, "And Tiana has never seen it! At least wear it this year so she can!"

"I bet you'd also force Poca to wear a European dress and face powder." Mulan snarked.

"They've never done that to me," Pocahontas said, "But I have heard rumors that I've worn that before. Strange."

"I _would _like to see it…" Tiana smiled, making Mulan roll her eyes.

"Fine. But only this last year."

"I'm going to wear my wedding outfit again." Jasmine grinned, petting her silky black locks. "You know, the purple one?"

"That sounds quite nice." Tiana said.

"Well girls," Cinderella said above the crowd, Belle at her side, "I believe our time is up."

"I am not wearing the lily pad suit," Naveen moaned, "It makes me look ridiculous."

Tiana shifted her weight on the bed to face him, "Aw, you don't want to match me?"

"I will wear the uniform I wore to our wedding," He continued, "But _not_ the lily pad suit."

"Lottie says we look so cute in them."

"Excuse me, not to offend Charlotte, but I really do not care if she thinks I am cute or not." He said, raising an eyebrow, "And I am surprised you do."

"I don't." Tiana rubbed her husband's chest, grinning. "I'm just messing with you."

"Good. Because I am not wearing it." He gave a firm nod, sending a few off his curls in his face.

Tiana giggled, sweeping them away.

"I'll take what I can get." she said, kissing him as he turned off the lights.

The night of the ball, Tiana put on her lily pad dress and put up her hair in a loose bun. As she did her makeup, Naveen walked in behind her, putting his arms around her waist.

"You look amazing, my wife." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you, Naveen." She said. "We have to leave in a few minutes. And you do, too."

They left in their best car (Naveen wanted to show the men what a car _really_ means) and started towards the castle, Tiana praying that tonight would go well.

Belle greeted them at the door, a huge smile on her face. Though she wore her gold dress, as always, her hair had been done with a little more care and her cheeks and eyes were just so slightly painted.

"I'm so excited you could come, Tia! Your dress is absolutely stunning! " Belle took her arm, leading her into the ballroom. Tiana gasped upon entering it. She had never seen Belle's ballroom before, and it was gorgeous.

"Tiana!" sang Cinderella, running up to her, blue gown swishing. "Finally, now we have everyone!"

Tiana scanned the room for the other princesses. She saw Jasmine, who looked quite pretty in her violet outfit and tied back hair. She stood next to a young Middle Eastern boy, whom Tiana assumed to be Aladdin. Mulan was off to the side, looking beautiful in a silk dress and a painted face. Extremely unhappy, but beautiful. The man who must have been Shang stood next to her, seemingly trying to comfort her. Aurora was there, too, and her dress didn't have any difference besides being blue.

Snow White and her Prince were the first ones to dance. It disturbed Tiana a bit, because while Snow looked about fourteen, her prince looked quite a bit older. Times were different then, she supposed. Naveen took her hand, leading her onto the dance floor. She blushed a little bit as the others clapped, smiling shyly as she took dancing position. The music was classical, not something Naveen would usually dance to, but he seemed to be enjoying himself well enough. One by one, each of the couples joined the dance. Except, of course, for Mulan and Shang.

As the others enjoyed themselves, Tiana gently led Naveen off the dance floor and over to the couple.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. "You look great, by the way."

"Its fine…" Mulan said, "It's just that I don't dance. And thank you."

"Ah, it is not that difficult." Naveen said. Tiana smiled at him.

"No, I _really_ don't dance. Especially not this European style dancing."

"I don't either." Shang said.

"Well, I did not expect _you_ to." Naveen mumbled. Glancing up at the man's raised eyebrow, he smiled weakly, "T-that came out wrong."

"Please, Tiana, don't try to make me dance." Mulan sighed, turning away. She looked at Shang, who, with a look of sympathy, led her to the outside deck. Tiana looked at her husband, shrugging. Together, they walked back to the others.

They chatted and danced for a few minutes longer, Mulan and Shang left in the back of their minds. As the moon rose higher and higher, the night got just more lively. Eventually, Naveen was teaching the princes how to pop a champagne bottle (And, for the older ones, the fact that they actually can drink it), and Tiana was telling the girls about being a frog.

Then, suddenly, an echoing crash sounded outside the ballroom door. Some of the princesses yelped in fear (And Naveen was pretty sure he heard some of the princes cry out, too). Dead silence came about the ballroom. Tiana glanced towards the other princesses, seeing that they were becoming quite white in the face. Cautiously, they all moved to the hallway, some of the girls trying to hide their terrified faces. The sight they found was horrifying.

Tiana wasn't sure what the creatures lumbering across the hallway floor were. They were large, black, and had long, spindly legs that moved in a particularly unnerving way, hunched over like they were going to grab you and pull you down into their dark depths. They lumbered towards them, as if taking their time to attack to get the maximum amount of fear.

She stepped back towards the crowd, bunched together away from the approaching monsters.

"Why? Why tonight?" Cinderella cried, holding a terrified Snow White in her arms.

"What are they?" Tiana whispered, hugging to her husband's chest. Naveen's nervous breaths brushed against her, her hands shaking as he gripped her waist.

"When you're a Disney Princess, you get involved in a lot of things." Belle muttered to her. "The place these came from, that's one of them."

"Mulan and Shang!" Tiana yelped, "They're outside!" Her eyes opening wide, she broke away from Naveen.

"We need to warn them!" Ariel said.

"I will!" Tiana raced back into the ballroom as fast as her ball gown and heels could allow. Mulan was surprised to see her, with her breaths puffing and legs weak.

"Is something wrong?" Shang asked, glancing at Mulan.

"There's these…things in the…hallway!" Tiana gasped, her voice breaking as she pointed towards the door. "You need…to stay…outside!"

Mulan, glanced at Shang, and without another word, they rushed past her towards the hallway.

Tiana's jaw dropped. "I...!" Sighing, she took after them, doing her best to drag along her dress.

She found them pushing past the others in the hallway. Upon seeing the creatures, they stopped.

Mulan scanned the room quickly as the Heartless—she recognized them as Neoshadows— slinked towards them. She needed a weapon, but where could she find one? Looking towards the walls, she saw the suits of armor lining the dark stone; swords resting in their hands.

Quick as a flash, she swung a kick, knocking one off the statue. It was meant for decoration, not practical use, but it would have to do. Shang imitated her, finding his own blade. As the first Neoshadow lunged at her, she swung the sword up, meeting right in the middle where it disappeared with a poof of black dust. Not resting, she slashed at the next closest one, just missing it as it dropped down into a dark portal. One more leaped at her, but she fell to the ground under it and kicked it over. Raising her sword, she stabbed down on it before it could get away.

Shang blazed through the crowd of heartless, whacking the creatures with all his strength. His brow was laced with sweat, his muscles tiring. However, he plunged on, taking down as many as he possibly could. They fought on like this, doing their best to keep going. Finally, with one last well-timed swing, Mulan destroyed the last one.

She dropped to the ground, using the sword to support herself. Shang leaned against the walls, huffing breaths though dry lungs.

When Mulan was finally able to shakily stand up, she straitened her spine, staring at the other princesses. Her hair had fallen out of its bun and was now tangled around her face, bits of it falling in front of her eyes. Her dress was covered in rips and sweat, no longer the elegant silk it was before. Scratches sprinkled across her face.

"That," she said, holding up her head, "Is what it means to be the feminist Disney Princess."

* * *

I know what you're thinking. "Rachel, you're being a big hypocrite! You just spent the entire last chapter saying the cheap-quels didn't happen, and now you're including the Heartless from Kingdom Hearts?" Well, sir, I have an answer for that. 1. Kingdom Hearts doesn't suck, 2. I never said that the cheap-quels didn't happen in any form, just that the princesses didn't do them (: and 3. the stories in Kingdom Hearts didn't necessarily happen, but KH, being part of non-live action, non-Disney Channel Disney, will exist in this world.

I needed an enemy for this chapter that wasn't one of the main villains, but was still strong enough to put up a challenge, so the Heartless seemed to make sense. Plus, Tiana needed an introduction to Kingdom Hearts.

After this, I'm going to do another Prince chapter, since they haven't had a big focus in the last two. Our guys need some lovin' :D


	5. Chapter 5

After last time's more "action" story, this one is definitely going to be another funny one. I'm glad it's the princes, though, because they're a lot easier to make funny. C:

This particular story is resting a little close to **T**. It doesn't, um, "reference" too much, but it has Naveen being…well, Naveen. (;

* * *

Naveen marched into the ballroom, grumbling to himself.

"_My _fault. Of course. It is always _my _fault…" He mumbled, along with other normal post-argument complaints. His head was slumped over, glowering.

"What is wrong, my good fellow?" The Prince asked. The older princes were still wary of the strange new multiple-woman man, but politeness was a way of life.

"I had a fight with my wife. The usual." Naveen sat at one of the tables set out for the meeting, as they were playing cards today. No gambling, of course, which rather disappointed him. He was sure he could win the velvet pants off the others.

He didn't realize that he had just sat himself with the older princes, whom he'd been very successful at avoiding for the last few meetings. Naveen took his hand of cards, frowning at it despite the fact it was fairly good.

"You _fight_ with your wife?" Eric asked, "How—"

"Unusual? Barbaric? Shocking?" Naveen snapped, glaring at his deck. "Whatever other adjectives you could use to describe the fact that we are not happy little balls of innocence?"

Eric gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Sure you are."

"It's only," The Prince said, a sympathetic look on his face, "that it's quite unfortunate that you compromise your romance for arguments. Aren't they unenjoyable?"

"Nah, they are just a blast!" Naveen replied sarcastically, giving a fake smile.

"They _are_?" The Prince asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

Naveen stared at him for a long time. "What are you?" He said.

"Anyway," Charming said, "Cinderella and I never fight."

"Snow White and I don't, either."

_Maybe that is because you are both so astoundingly devoid of personality you cannot feel human emotions._ Naveen thought. He knew he was being rather rude, but his bad mood drifted on.

"But my fellow prince, I don't understand." Phillip said, putting out a card. "Isn't your wife the center of your world?"

"Yes…" Naveen said warily, immediately beating the card with one of his own, almost out of spite. "One thing I have to ask, though."

"Yes, my good sir?"

"How on _Earth_ do you feel comfortable talking about the emotional parts of relationships with the _guys_? It is just bizarre! We are supposed to be each other's _escape_ from women!" Naveen glared at them, half out of lingering anger about the argument and half out of annoyance. "Is how much you love your wives the _only_ thing you talk about!?"

The other princes looked confused, glancing towards each other before looking back at him. Naveen didn't like the way Phillip was looking at him; his mouth was tucked up into a soft smile, as if he was with a naïve child. The Prince stood up and looked Naveen straight in the eye, holding his chin up.

"For she, my friend, is the most wonderful thing in my life."

"Of course." Naveen moaned. They just didn't get it! He loved Tiana more than anything, but that didn't mean she didn't sometimes make him so angry he wanted to pull his hair out. "We all feel that way. That does not mean that has to be the only thing we talk about!"

"But my friend…" The Prince took a deep breath, opening his mouth.

"Oh no…" Naveen cried, "You are not going to—"

"_I am a servant to the ooooone IIIIII loooove!"_

Phillip stood with him, followed closely by Charming and Eric. All three belted out, their tenor voices echoing through the room.

"_Gone for good and never to return!"_

"Men, is this really the time..."

"_Dreams come and go, but love never leaves_

_Eternity and forever more!" _

"This song does not even _rhyme._" Naveen shouted, throwing out his hands, "At least wait until you have better inspiration!"

"_Ooooohh my dear loooove!"_

"Would you _please_…"

"_When I looooked intooo yooour eyyyes…_" The princes grabbed Naveen by the arm, pulling him up am dancing around the room.

"Gah!" He shouted, trying to keep his balance. He was an experienced dancer, but not at all prepared to be ambushed with it. He caught his footing, looking towards the other princes for help. Aladdin's head was covered by his arms as he lay over on the table in laughter, Shang and John just shaking theirs. Prince Adam watched the ordeal in amusement. Naveen shot them a death glare, clenching his teeth.

"Why thank you, men!" Naveen yelled at them from across the room, still held onto by the singing princes, "Nice to know my friends will so readily help me in my time of need!"

"But sir," Charming said, finally stopping the singing, "We are simply trying to teach you how to properly express your love for Tiana in the most romantic way possible."

"By singing a sappy, horribly written song until she begs me to stop!?" Naveen cried.

The prince's faces fell immediately, his gut following when he saw them.

"Horribly written?" Charming asked softly.

_Oh God._ "Well, not horribly written, that was an exaggeration…"

"I'm sorry sir," The Prince whispered, "Our songs are usually much better."

"O-oh I am sure they are!"

The princes gave a downhearted nod, sitting down to continue the game. Naveen was still standing awkwardly, a nervous smile on his face.

"Gah!" He shouted suddenly, causing them all to jump, "Stop looking so sad! You are making me guilty! You are right, it is no business of mine how you romance your princesses, we all have our different ways. J-just, stop!"

"We're sorry we tried to force our methods on you." Eric said, "Though I can't see how else you could express your love to your wife other than to serenade her."

"I am sure if I told you your pure little minds would break into a million pieces." Naveen replied, grinning as he heard his fellow new princes all burst out into shocked laughter.

The card games continued as normal, Naveen surprisingly having a rather good time with all of the princes. He still very much preferred the new ones, but he didn't mind the older ones too much, either. As they all left, however, Phillip grabbed his arm.

"Prince Naveen," he said, "may I have a moment?"

"Yes…" Naveen said, slowly turning to face him.

"This may sound odd," Phillip said, "But…"

"What?" Naveen asked tensely, taking a step back.

"I'm actually a bit jealous of the fact you can fight with your wife."

"_What?_"

"Its only…" Phillip smiled, "It was lesser so back then, but these days I hear more people saying how your partner is the only person who can get you to your happiest, saddest, and…angriest. I dare say that those of us who don't get angry at our wives feel almost as if we are missing out on that part."

"I have never thought of it like that." It was true…he had fallen in love with Tiana because she was the only woman that could make him feel as frustrated as she did, as challenged by her unwillingness to bow at his feet like most women.

"Still, I'm not sure how you and your wife can avoid having a completely romanceless relationship without singing." Phillip said as they walked out of the castle. Naveen turned ahead, his jaw dropping when he saw Tiana standing at the bottom of the steps.

"Naveen," she sighed, "I'm sorry. You're right, it's my fault. Can we go home in peace, please, baby?" she smiled softly.

Naveen looked at Phillip with a sly smile. "Watch how I do it."

"What?" Phillip asked, Naveen already beside his wife. Gently, he bent down to whisper something in her ear, something that was making her giggle.

"Naveen…" She said, as he continued his strange whispering, slowly rubbing small circles on her arched back. She grinned, fitting herself into his arm he led her to the car. Naveen turned his head to tip his hat at a very confused Prince Phillip, chuckling to himself all the way.


	6. Chapter 6

OK, I'm going to have to ask you reviewers a question. I was watching a House of Mouse episode and thought Tiana and Naveen first experiencing the craziness of the House would be hysterical but…I feel like that would be going too close to hypocrisy after declaring cheap-quels to be uncannon. Thoughts? Opinions?

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I won't be officially adding Rapunzel and Flynn until their movie actually comes out (So…it'll be months), but I'm sure the girls would have gotten the word that they're coming.

This one is a tad shorter than past ones, just a warning.

* * *

"GIRLS!" Came a jubilant scream. The voice resonated through the halls, making some of the princesses jump. A bubbly blonde burst through the door, her bun threatening to escape its holder.

"What is it, Ella?" asked Ariel, about to comb through her hair with a fork before Aurora stopped her.

"We are going to have a NEW PRINCESS!" Cinderella squealed, throwing up her hands in glee. Immediately, the room was filled with a ruckus of excited whispers and giggles. Everyone had something to say on the matter.

"I wonder if she'll be more like us or the older princesses." Tiana said.

"I'm not sure if they can get away with a girl like the older princesses in this day and age." Belle replied.

"Oh, I can't wait to meet her!" Snow White sang, doing a little dance through the room. She plopped back down in her seat, still smiling from ear to ear.

"What's her name?" Jasmine asked Cinderella, who had to catch her breath to answer.

"Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel? Am I always going to be the only one with a _normal_ name in here?" Tiana snarked, rolling her eyes slightly.

"There's Ella." Mulan pointed out. "Or Cindy, whatever you want to call her."

"Yes, but she usually goes by Cinderella." Pocahontas said. "Which is a bit odd, given the fact it was a derogatory nickname given to her by her evil stepsisters. It's like Belle's father going by Crazy Old Man." She looked up to see Belle glaring at her, a furious look on her face. "…I apologize, that was a horrible statement."

"Oh, and hear this!" Cinderella said over the voices. "She will have 70 feet long hair!"

"Oooh!"

"How bizarre!"

"How strange!"

"But…_I'm_ supposed to be the one with the most unrealistically and impractically long hair!" Pocahontas cried out it sadness, her eyes drooping.

"It's okay, Poca." Belle said, putting her arm around the downfallen girl.

"It's odd that we had such a lack of new princesses for years, and then all of a sudden Tiana and Repunzel start showing up." Jasmine said.

"I wonder what happened in between those years." Mulan said. Behind her, the pearly white door swung open and servants flooded in, filling their tea cups.

"I'm still not used to this." Tiana said as one servant poured her tea, another serving her little cakes on a plate, and yet one more folding her napkin and placing it on the table. "I feel like I'm practically one of these guys…its strange being served like royalty."

"But, _aren't _you royalty now?" Pocahontas asked.

"Yeah," Tiana replied, thanking the servants. From their look of surprise, she could tell they don't get that a lot. "But I didn't used to be."

"You're not going to give us another hour long lecture on 'working hard for your dreams' again, are you?" Mulan groaned under her breath, but Tiana still heard.

"Don't worry, Naveen filled me in that they aren't everyone's point of interest." She said sarcastically, raising her eyebrow when the other princesses gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, we're all royalty now, correct?" Belle said.

"Uh huh." Tiana piped.

"Indeed." Pocahontas said.

"Last time I checked." Jasmine laughed.

Mulan showed great interest in her tea cup.

"Will Rapunzel be blood royalty, or marriage royalty?" Belle asked Cinderella, who was conversing with the other princesses.

"Blood, I think." Cinderella said, giggling. "I hear her prince will be a thief."

Aurora spat out her tea on Snow White. "A _thief_?"

"Indeed. So she must be blood, because how would a non-princess get into the Disney Princesses?" Cindy laughed. "The idea is preposterous!"

"A non-princess in the Disney Princesses." Jasmine snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I mean, it's in our name!" Tiana chuckled.

"Yes, how silly." Mulan mumbled, grumbling. Her eyes still didn't leave her teacup.

"How could we _possibly_ have a non-princess in the Disney _Princesses_?" Ariel exclaimed, trying not to explode into giggles. "We'd have to change our name to Disney Girls, or something like that."

The room exploded into roaring laughter.

"It's like the Disney Fairies having someone who isn't a fairy!" Aurora said, laughing in-between words. "The idea is ridiculous!"

"THAT'S IT!" Came a sudden shout from the end of the room. All of the princesses jumped, immediately turning toward it. Mulan stood there, her fists clenched.

"Ridiculous, is it?" She snapped, "Well guess what, dear, it's true!"

"_It is!?"_ The princesses gasped, Mulan rolling her eyes.

"I am not a princess!" she continued, "My father was in the military, and my…uh…love interest, I guess, is a general!"

Silence filled the room as the others stared at her, a few with their mouths hanging open in shock.

"Well, this is awkward." Tiana said.

"I apologize if we said anything that offended you." Cinderella said, "Did we?"

"Oh, not at all. I just exploded in anger to help my own health." Mulan snarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What medical problem do you have that is fixed by yelling?" Snow White questioned, her head tipped in confusion. The others slowly turned their heads to look at her. "What?"

"Anyway, you better not kick me out." Mulan glared at them, squinting her eyes. "Especially after I saved all of you from the Heartless."

"Oh no, Mulan!" Cinderella cried, rushing over to the girl, "We wouldn't _dream_ of kicking you out!"

"Of course not!"

"That would be cruel!"

"We ain't like that!"

"Well, that's a relief." Mulan sighed, sitting down. "I just hope the men would react the same way if Shang told them we aren't royalty."

"I'm sure they would." Ariel said.

"And we'd whoop their butts if they don't." Tiana added, crossing her arms. The rest gave out a word of approval of this statement. Mulan smiled, taking her seat back with her friends.

"I wonder what the princes will think of Rapunzel's prince being a thief." Jasmine said.

"I think some of them will be okay with it…" Belle replied, "Others…not so much."

"Look at how they reacted just to Naveen having been with other women!" Tiana laughed.

"He _has_?" Came a shout from behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

I've decided to go through with the House of Mouse idea. (: Don't hate me.

Sorry for the slow update. And, I know I don't say this as much as I should, but thank you for all the kind reviews. (: They really mean a lot to me.

Special thanks to blueflower1594. ;)

* * *

Tiana walked into a room of smiling faces. They were all obviously trying to hide their excitement, failing rather miserably, of course. Snow White was bumping up and down a bit, and Cinderella was rocking on her heels.

"What's goin' on?" Tiana asked, not stepping through the door frame.

"We have a surprise for you and Naveen!" Ariel squealed, waving her hands a bit. Snow White's bouncing grew more aggressive, her eyes closed tight in enthusiasm. Jasmine and Mulan were giggling to each other. Tiana rolled her eyes, sighing.

"What kind of surprise?" She asked, fully stepping in the door. Belle shifted to give her room on the sofa, where Tiana sat with a smile.

"Well…" Aurora said, bubbly with excitement, "Since you two have never been…we're going to take you to the House of Mouse!"

"Excuse me?"

"The House of Mouse." Pocahontas said, grinning, "It's a club."

"A club?" Tiana asked warily. Clubs have never been her thing; too many people moving about, too much alcohol. Naveen adored them, of course, but not her.

"More of a restaurant, but yes." Belle said. Tiana smiled in relief. "Maybe you'll find a recipe you like."

"More likely she'll just take over the kitchen itself." Mulan teased. Tiana laughed, even though she suspected Mulan wasn't really joking.

"Meet us at Beast's castle at six next Friday." Jasmine said, "We'll lead you there."

"Trust us, it'll be fun." Belle said, the other girls nodding.

Tiana smiled meekly.

Naveen already knew when she got home; the princes had told him themselves.

"Can you wait, Tiana?" he said as he took a bite of their dinner. "I hear that Disney people of all walks of life come to eat there! Maybe we will meet someone from a time period closer to our own."

"Maybe…"Tiana said quietly, shifting her fork in her food.

"Is something wrong, my dear?"

"No, no…I'm just wondering. The Disney universe is so huge…who knows who else we could meet? Or _what_ else?"

"I am sure there is proper security to make sure no one gets out of line." He assured her, reaching out to hold her hand. She smiled, clutching his.

"You're right. I'm being silly."

"Now eat this amazing dish you prepared."

"I shall." She grinned, scooping some vegetables with her fork.

Friday night, Naveen and Tiana drove to the Beast's Castle. Tiana wore her sparkly blue dress she borrowed from Charlotte; after all, she was one of the few with multiple good outfits, why not show them off?

"Whoa." Naveen said as they pulled into the front gate. All of the couples had their own vehicles; mostly carriages, though Jasmine and Aladdin sat on a carpet that just so happened to be floating in the air. "What is that?" he asked, getting out of his car to walk up to it. It shook his hand, adding to his amazement.

"The magic carpet." Aladdin said. "I can give you a ride sometime, if you'd like."

"That would be great!" Naveen cried, grinning. A magic carpet! God, if he could enchant his car to fly…the possibilities would be endless!

"Will everyone please enter their means of transportation now?" Cinderella said, "We will be leaving in a few minutes!"

Naveen reluctantly rejoined his wife in the car. Belle and the Beast started their carriage, the others following. It was then when Naveen realized what following carriages meant. His speed never topped 15 mph.

He finally stopped drumming on his steering wheel in boredom when they approached the building. It dwarfed all the others on the street, towering over even the largest ones. Huge spotlights roamed the skies, the name lit up in big, cartoony letters. However, what was most noticeable were the people entering it. Large yellow bears, hag-like witches, personified playing cards…the list went on. Tiana clutched her husband's hand as they exited the car.

"Oh, Tia, you look gorgeous!" Jasmine said as they passed, seemingly unconcerned about the strange people (and things) entering the place they are about to eat at. Tiana cautiously followed the other couples, not leaving Naveen's side.

The inside, however, made the outside look sane. The diversity of the customers increased tenfold, some of them not even look vaguely familiar. Anthropomorphic animals scuttled about, something Tiana was used too, to an extent. That is, until a small lion cub bumped into her.

"Excuse me, ma'm." he said, jogging off. Tiana stared at it, wide eyed.

"Naveen…I just understood that animal."

"So?"

"I haven't understood an animal since we were frogs." She looked at him, a look of realization on his face.

"Get used to it." Mulan said, patting her shoulder. "All the animals talk and act like humans here."

"OH MY GOD!" Tiana shouted suddenly, leaping back and knocking Belle almost off her feet.

"What? What?" she cried, catching her.

"Some of our ENEMIES are here!"

"Oh…" The princess laughed, much to Tiana's annoyance.

"What's so funny? This is BAD, girls!"

"Nope, they're just here for the food and the cartoons." Jasmine assured her. "No one dares to try anything evil here; the King makes sure of that." She nodded her head towards the stage, and to Tiana's shock, a giant mouse stood there. He joked and laughed, his high pitched voice echoing through the restaurant.

"The King?"

"King Mickey." Belle said.

"And he can actually defend us against our enemies?" Tiana asked, not convinced in the slightest. A giant mouse in a suit? They were as good as dead.

"Actually, yes." Mulan said. "You know how Shang and I fought off the heatless?"

"Yeah, y'all were amazing."

"Yes, imagine that with five times the acrobatics, three times the experience, and ten times the speed. Not to mention some really powerful magic. And a keyblade, though I guess you don't know what that is yet."

"…Wow."

"Yep."

"Com'n girls, let's get tables!" Ariel piped, skipping to a group of empty ones. Tiana and Naveen sat down at a table for two, only to be ambushed by a tall dog.

"Hiya, I'm Goofy, and I'll be your waiter today, hyuk!" he laughed, then, realizing who they were, leapt forward to shake their hands. "You folks are the new princess and prince, aren't ya? By golly, I'm charmed!"

"Um, thank you." Naveen said, smiling nervously.

"Oh, gosh, I gotta take your order!" Goofy gave another "hyuk," whipping out his notepad. "What would ya like?"

"Um, I'll have the…um…Mad Hatter Platter?" Tiana said, raising an eyebrow at the strange name.

"And for me the…ah...Pork Tender Lion Cub?" Naveen added.

"Right away!" Goofy exclaimed, giving a little salute before bounding off.

"A little more informal than ours, is it not?" Naveen joked, Tiana nodding. "Still, that is not necessarily a bad thing."

"No…" Tiana said. She did indeed feel a little more relaxed here than most places, like she could just sit back and have some fun. Still, it was a little unnatural sitting just a few tables away from someone who had once tried to kill a friend of yours. She suspected that it was part of the magic of the club, though, that just for an hour or two, everyone suddenly stops fighting and simply sits back and watches cartoons. _I'll just get used to it, like Mulan said._ She thought.

As Mickey announced the first cartoon, Tiana couldn't help but be astounded by it. She had seen cartoons before; Gertie the Dinosaur, Felix the Cat. But these were in full color, sound, and the animation was so clean and smooth…it looked like nothing she had ever seen before.

"This is amazing." Naveen whispered. His wife nodded.

After the cartoon, Mickey announced a band of young ducks called the "Brooks and Ducks." Tiana was unfamiliar with their music; it seemed to be hillbilly, but mixed with another element of music she wasn't quite familiar with. _This place is outside of our world's timeline. _She remembered. _It might not be around yet. _

Suddenly, a holler rang through the club. Goofy burst through the kitchen doors, sliding on some liquid. He through the dishes he was carrying, sending them flying onto Tiana and Naveen's table before he finally crashed into the performing band with a _CLASH_. The food seemed relatively unaffected, much to Tiana's surprise, and she dug into her meal as soon as she could.

Naveen was eating his food rather quickly when someone bumped into his arm, sending his food into his plate. Sauce soaked his sleeve, burning his skin underneath.

"Ah!" He cried, clutching his arm.

"No one burns arms like Gaston!" came a low voice from above him. Glancing up, Naveen saw a tall man, maybe in his early thirties, towering over him. His raven black hair was pulled back, away from his strong, condescending face. His shirt was bulging with the muscles underneath.

"What was that about?" Naveen snapped, standing up.

"Honey…" Tiana whispered, trying to coax him back down in his seat, but he ignored her. The man glared at him, holding out his arm to summon a horde of giggling blonde girls practically drooling for him. Naveen rolled his eyes. Like that was supposed to impress him. He acquires that many girls within ten seconds of stepping inside a country.

Gaston frowned at Naveen's indifferent face. Usually they respected that.

"Sir, I do not believe you realize my magnitude of manliness." He said, stepping forward.

"Yes, I do." Naveen snarked, "You come here throwing around your muscles and expect us to cower in fear. I get it. And it doesn't impress me." Naveen leaned back on their table, smirking. Gaston was starting to grimace in anger.

"Ok, fellas, let's not start a fight." Mickey hopped down from the stage, stepping in between the two men. Naveen sighed, slumping down in his chair as Gaston strutted away. Mickey grinned, returning to his place. Suddenly, Naveen heard chuckles behind him. Turning, he was shocked to see it was Adam and Belle.

"What?" he asked.

"Its only…" Adam said, "I should have figured you two would be at each other's necks."

"Why…?" Naveen said warily, turning more to face him.

"Well…think about it." Belle smiled, "You're both strong, handsome men, the women love you, you love them equally back…except for you, of course, since you're now married…and you both have something of an ego."

"I do not—" Naveen started to argue until he saw the expression on Tiana's face, her eyebrow raised and her mouth in a slight smile. He sighed. "Alright, I see your point."

"Don't take it personally." Adam said, "You're like him in a much nicer way."

"Thank you, I guess."

Naveen finished the last of his dinner with Tiana, watching the remainder of the cartoons. Finally, about midnight, Mickey finally stood up on the stage for the last time.

"Looks like that was our last cartoon!" He said, laughing, "See ya real soon!"

Naveen took his wife's arm and led her out to the car. Strangely, he enjoyed the slow drive back. He was distracted before, but it allowed him to truly appreciate the lights of the city; they were like nothing he had ever seen. They lit up Tiana's face beautifully, her eyes sparkling.

"I really enjoyed tonight." She said, placing her hand on his.

"Yes, it was rather amusing." He smiled, taking the hand and fiddling with the thin, feminine fingers in his own. "Who would have thought that I'd be so similar to one of our enemies?"

"Hm." Tiana rested her head back. "I could imagine it."

"Hey."

"Anyway, I wouldn't mind going back." She lifted her head again, looking back to the club shrinking away behind them.

"Neither would I. And it seems they can go there a lot." Naveen laughed, gripping her hand tighter, "Who knows what strange adventures are coming our way?"

"I can't wait to find out."


	8. Chapter 8

This fic was inspired by the House fanfiction "Stories Can Be Good" by JustHuddy.

And this story is full out **T**. And yes, I did have Jasmine say "By Allah" once, but only because that's what they say in the actual movie. Besides, it's just their way of saying God, right?

**Story 8; Fanfictions**

Tiana didn't expect the room to be full of blinking screens when she walked in. She wasn't sure what they were, and didn't exactly want to find out. However, her curiosity got the best of her.

"What are those?" She asked, walking towards Mulan as she clicked around on one. To her amazement, when Mulan moved a little piece of plastic with her hand, a little arrow on the screen moved too.

"It's called a computer. We're connected to the internet." Mulan said. "I've been learning how to use one, and let me tell you, it's not easy when you grew up in ancient China." She gasped in frustration when she clicked on a screen and the words "404" showed up.

"I've read all about them in modern books and manuals." Belle said, clicking around like she was born to do it. "It's really not so hard. And guess what I found? A website where people write stories about things, like us!"

"They write about us?" Jasmine hurried to look over her shoulder.

"Yes, they do." Belle clicked around some more. "Some of them are new adventures; some of them are just us romancing with our husbands…or love interests…"

Mulan rolled her eyes. "You can just say husband. I don't care."

They searched around, giggling at the romance stories each other starred in. Most of them cute and sweet; a few with couples such as Tiana and Naveen and Jasmine and Aladdin got a little more sultry. However, they mostly stayed in the **T** rated stories, and the older princesses stayed in the **K+**. Finally, Mulan piped up.

"Have you ever wondered what's in the **M** rated stories?" She asked, pointing at one on the screen. It was Ariel/Eric, and it seemed rather sweet, about their wedding.

"Some of them are very violent, I think." Belle replied.

"Come on, we can take it! Especially me." Mulan proudly proclaimed, smirking at them. "I _am _a soldier." She clicked on the link, reading. "How bad can it be? Even fanfic authors have limits."

One story later, the princesses stared at the computer with their mouths blank in shock. The only movement was Jasmine's eye twitching.

"So _that's_ what lemon means." Pocahontas whispered.

"Well, that was certainly…interesting." Tiana said. "I do believe I will not be able to sleep tonight without those images flashing in my head. Thank you, internet."

"So what stories did you just read?" Ariel skipped over. With a yelp, they quickly X'd out the page.

"Uh, nothing!" Mulan laughed nervously.

"Nothing at all!"

"Perfectly innocent!"

"Just fine!"

"Oh…" Ariel looked confused for a moment, but changed right back to her peppy grin, "Alright then!" She flounced off.

"So…" Belle mumbled, "I say we avoid **M** rated fics from now on?"

"Agreed." The others stated, nodding quickly.

Belle opened the page again, returning to the site.

"Wow, Tiana, there are tons about you!" Mulan exclaimed as she read through the page. "The writers seem to really like you and Naveen."

Tiana gave a small smile, sitting herself next to Belle to read the stories. Some of them made her laugh; some of them made her very sad. Some of them were well written; some needed quite a bit of work. She scrolled down the list of names, skimming the titles and descriptions, until:

"_**Forbidden Fruit"**_

_Facilier knows he wants Tiana. Tiana knows she wants him. But can they resist the pressures from their sides to join together?_

Tiana's jaw hit the floor.

"They're pairing me with _Facilier_? I…I…_what_?" She leaned on her elbows, staring closer at the screen. "Wha…why on Earth would they _do_ that!?"

She clicked on the link, feeling a strange curiosity to read it. She immediately regretted that decision.

"_They kissed, fiercely and passionately, his long, trained fingers roaming her smooth back."_

Tiana started to feel sick.

"_For a moment, they separated, Tiana staring into his deep purple eyes, filled with pain and strength. _

'_I love you.' She whispered. _

_He gave a sly grin, stroking her sides. _

'_I love you too.' They returned to each other's lips."_

"Oh my _God_, this is…_What_!?" Tiana cried, shaking her head slowly in terror. "He tried to kill my husband! He killed Ray! He was going to offer all the souls of New Orleans to be sucked into Hell! And this person thinks he is a good _lover _for me!?"

"Here, I'll close it—" Belle started.

"No! I need to keep reading!" Tiana pushed her hand away from the mouse.

"_Why_!?"

"I have no idea!" she exclaimed, shrugging in shock. "I just have this strange desire to see how bad this gets!"

"_She moaned as he deepened the kiss, pulling her even closer."_

"Tiana, seriously, this is disgusting." Jasmine winced. Mulan was resting her head down on the desk, gripping it tightly. Pocahontas had her hands over her face.

"Please, Tia, can I X this out?" Belle pleaded.

"Yes! Gah! Just…EW!" Tiana covered her eyes, "Just leave it, please!"

Belle left the page as quickly as she could, sighing in relief.

"That was…disturbing." She said.

"Tell me about it." Tiana slumped down in her chair. "Now I _know_ I won't be able to sleep tonight." She grabbed her hair, shaking her head.

"Well, at least I know there aren't any stories about Jafar and I," Jasmine piped, "I mean, there's no way people can be _that _horrendous. "

Belle shifted her head towards the computer screen.

"_Jasmine stared at the older man from across the table. His slick, sharp features called to her, giving her a strange sensation to approach him…"_

"By Allah…" She whispered, covering her mouth. "This is positively frightening."

"Let's leave this before they start shipping Belle and Gaston." Mulan said. She looked back at the screen. "Oh, too late."

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Belle cried, burying her face in her arms. "Why, why, why, why, why!?" she yelped, her voice muffled through her sleeve. Tiana smirked, placing a hand on her back.

"It seems some of our fans have some very strange minds." She said.

"I'm just happy that the other girls aren't having these problems. All of their enemies are women; they can't pair them with theirs." Belle said, collecting herself and rising from her position.

Tiana chucked nervously. "Well honey…it ain't exactly the 1700s anymore…" She gave the confused Belle a shrug.

"Well!" Pocahontas clapped her hands together. "On that note, what do you say we hang up these stories and have a nice cup of tea?"

"Sounds good."

"Indeed."

"For the love of all that's pure in the world, please."

They turned off the computer with a little tune and tried to walk off as if nothing happened. It was not easy.

"So, girls, did you read anything enjoyable?" Aurora asked, folding her hands together. "I read the most wonderful stories, so sweet and romantic."

"Yeah, yeah…" Tiana mumbled distantly.

"Um, yes, you can certainly find…uh…interesting material on the so-called internet." Pocahontas said, giving a forced smile.

"Yes…interesting." Mulan gave an awkward laugh.

"I can't wait to return to the internet!" Snow White mused, "So many wondrous, new things on it! You never know what you'll find! Those fans can come up with anything!"

"Yeah…anything…" The princesses groaned, sipping their tea.

"Whoops, look at the time, I have to go home to Eric!" Ariel giggled. They winced.

"And so many images return to my mind." Tiana whispered to Belle, who gave a wide-eyed nod as the red-head scooped up her things and gracefully walked out of the room.

"What's wrong girls?" Cinderella asked, raising an eyebrow. The newer princesses were all looking in different directions, their limbs weak and their faces nervous. Mulan was whistling innocently.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Jasmine replied, smiling.

"Dears, I may be older, but I'm not an idiot." Cinderella rested her chin on her fist, staring at them. "You read the stories pairing you with your enemies, didn't you?"

The other older princesses gasped. The newer ones dropped their jaw, gaping at Cindy in disbelief.

"You read them too?" Tiana gasped.

"No, actually." Cinderella smirked. "_I_ know how to not read them."

"But how do you resist it? It's just so tempting!" exclaimed Mulan.

"A strong will against these things, I suppose." Cinderella nonchalantly sipped her tea. "When you are more of the innocent type, you have no mind to even consider reading about them."

"Did you see the…other kind?" Pocahontas winced, "the kind about…you know…"

"I know what?" Cinderella asked, genuinely confused.

"Nevermind."

"I think we can all agree that the internet is a wonderful yet dangerous place." Jasmine proclaimed.

"Sounds right to me." Said Tiana.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Aurora grinned, flipping her shiny golden hair.

"I guess next time we'll be more prepared." Belle smiled back, and the girls resumed their teatime as normal.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the kinda late update. I was directing a school play (with Nightfall Daybreak ;)) so I was VERY busy the last couple of weeks.

* * *

Naveen's fingers fluttered over the keypad. Oh, if only he had discovered this amazing contraption years earlier! The things he could find! The people he could speak to!

"Naveen, ever since Tiana showed you that thing you've been obsessed with it." Shang frowned at him, crossing his arms, "What more can you find on there?"

They were all sitting at a table, polished wood smooth under their fingers. The older princes sat behind them, engaged in their own conversations.

"Ah, my friend, the possibilities are endless!" He didn't glance up from the screen, "Unlimited! Infinite!"

"I see."

"Belle told me of some of the…different things they found there." Adam said, combing back his hair with his fingers. "She was a bit disturbed by it. Especially the Gaston part."

"Ugh, Jasmine told me about them, too." Aladdin groaned, shuddering. "I mean, her and _Jafar_? Who could like that?"

"People can be very odd sometimes, Aladdin." John Smith told him, in a sort of condescending, patronizing tone that even Naveen disliked. Aladdin frowned a bit, but let it slide.

"Do you have to speak down to _everyone_?" Shang growled at him. John Smith quickly turned his head towards the general, clutching a fist threateningly. They both stood, ready to fight. In a flash of movement, Adam leapt between them, holding out his hands to block their bodies.

"Alright, alright, relax." He spoke calmly, lowering his hands. Shang shot one last glare at John Smith before they turned away from each other.

"Why do you have this rivalry anyway?" Naveen asked, closing the laptop. They were the only two members that seemed to genuinely dislike each other. Sure, the new and old princes weren't joined at the hip, but they usually simply stayed in their own groups. Aladdin laughed, shaking his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said, "They're the toughest, biggest, and the most serious. Of course they hate each other."

"It's a little more than that." Beast mumbled, frowning. Shang and John Smith's expressions changed on the spot.

"Bring that up again, and I'll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life." Shang snapped, "It was his fault, anyway."

"It was not—"

"Men, let's settle down." Adam sighed, rolling his eyes. "Goodness, I should start charging you for how many times I have to say those words."

"I'm not going to ask what happened." Naveen flipped back open the laptop, leaving the subject for good.

"A wise choice, my friend." Adam nodded.

"Smith kissed Mulan." Shang blurted out.

"So much for that." Aladdin sighed.

"It was an _accident!" _John Smith cried, throwing up his arms. "It was dark, and I saw a head of strait black hair sitting in a chair. I thought it was Pocahontas!" He covered his face in his hands, his elbows in the table. "Oi, would you just leave that alone! Your girlfriend had already punched me before you walked in."

Shang smiled proudly. "She broke his nose."

"Good…job?" Naveen said, nervously scooting back in his chair. Shaking his head softly, he looked down at his computer. Suddenly, a quick idea came into his head. He typed "Disney Princes" into this funny little site with the odd name of Google. (whoever came up with that name had an imagination.) In a moment (way faster than Naveen had ever dreamed possible) a long page of blue words appeared before his eyes.

He read the list of links.

_Why are the Disney Princes so Sexist?_

_The Disney Princes Have No Personality: A Personal Rant_

"Hey…" Naveen whispered. No personality, his foot.

"Snow White did the loveliest thing last night!" exclaimed someone from behind him. Oh, right.

_Dress Your Little Boy Up Like Your Favorite Disney Prince!_

Naveen started to grow bored with that page; that is, until one link caught his immediate interest. He grinned at it, already getting ideas.

_Which is the Hottest Disney Prince? _

"Hottest" is modern day slang for most attractive, that he knew. _Should I really open it? _Naveen thought. He glanced up at Shang and John staring at each other like they wanted to dunk each other's head in a dirty horse stable. What would happen if one was rated higher than the other? Danger, that was what. Biting his knuckle, he debated in his head. Finally, he clicked on the link, curiosity getting the best of him.

"What are you looking at?" Aladdin piped, popping up behind him out of nowhere.

"Gah!" Naveen cried, trying to close the window. Aladdin grabbed his hand away before he could reach the mouse pad, though, and Naveen didn't fight in fear the computer would fall and crash. And by God's good grace, he didn't want to see Tiana after _that _happens.

"_Which is the Hottest Disney Prince?" _Aladdin said, a confused look on his face. "That would be me, wouldn't it?"

"Modest, aren't you?" Naveen snarked.

"What do you mean?" Aladdin asked, glancing up at him. "I'mthe one who lives in the desert."

Naveen stared at him for a bit, not sure whether to laugh out loud or be grateful for his good luck.

"Whatever you say." And he left it at that.

"Does seem to be a silly think to make a poll about, doesn't it?" Adam shook his head, "Kids today care about the weirdest of things."

"Wait a minute." Aladdin squinted at the screen, "These people aren't talking about temperature, they're talking about how attractive we are! These girls…and guys, though why would guys talk about other guys?"

Naveen smiled weakly, "Uuuh…"

"They're rating us on which one of us they are most drawn to!"

"Are you kidding?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Let me see!"

The men leaped over behind Aladdin, each pushing and shoving to get the best look.

_Naveen: 197 votes_

_Shang: 178 votes_

_Aladdin: 157 votes_

_John Smith: 135 votes_

_Eric: 105 votes_

_Phillip: 73 votes_

_Adam (Human Form Only): 29 votes_

_Prince Charming: 18 votes_

_The Prince: 9 votes_

"Whoa."

Aladdin had quite frankly expressed the entire group's reaction. They all stared at the screen in shock, their mouths hanging open. Some out of amazement and pride, some out of disappointment.

"I WIN!" Naveen punched his fist into the air in triumph, the others turning to glare at him. He smiled weakly and lowered his arm.

"I…am I really that unattractive in my human form?" Adam asked, frowning deeply.

"Nah…" Aladdin placed a hand on his shoulder. "It looks like they just like you better in Beast form. Read these comments."

**Superbaby454: **_omg, adam is sooo weird looking as a person. he is soooo much hotter as the beast. and im not a furry or anything. _

Reply: **Redtuxedo: **_ikrrrr?_

Reply: **EdwardLuver: **_suuuure you aren't. (; lolol_

Reply: **Trekkieman: **_ur the one who likes a sparkly vampire_

Reply: **Sexisugar: **_LOL, pwned_

Aladdin cocked his head to the side. "Never mind. Wha…What are they even talking about?"

"I shall never understand this internet culture." John Smith said as the others nodded. "What's a furry?"

"No idea."

"Beats me."

"Possibly a type of clothing item?"

"Whatever it is;" Smith said, raising his chin, "I'm sure it is a compliment to our dear Beast."

"And besides," he continued, "They were smart enough to rank me fourth highe—_I'M BEHIND SHANG!" _John leapt from his seat, gaping at the laptop.

"So what?" Aladdin said, "It's a bunch of voters on the internet. Why do you even care?...and Shang, get that smirk off your face." Aladdin thumped the man in the shoulder. He chuckled, turning away from Smith.

"I don't know…" John mumbled, crossing his arms, "I just don't like it."

Shang gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like "sore loser."

"Hey, I don't need you!" John Smith stood, staring at an amused Shang strait in the eye. "I have a gorgeous…love interest, and I don't need a bunch of strangers' approval."

"That _right." _Naveen said, "You and Shang are the only ones who aren't married to your women."

A look of realization came across Shang and John Smith's faces. They glanced at Naveen, and then each other.

"Indeed. I never noticed that." John Smith said, sitting back down. Shang gave a slight smile, but didn't say anything else. However, that seemed to satisfy John.

Naveen began to reopen the laptop, but hesitated.

"I think we've had enough of the internet for today." He stated, closing it back up. The others nodded, rearranging themselves around the table to continue their normal discussions.


	10. Chapter 10

**IT IS OFFICIALLY THE TENTH CHAPTER OF **_**MEETING THE OTHERS**_**! ***We are the Champions plays*

Okay, this chapter is actually two things.

1. An admittedly big author tract.

2. The beginning of an actual story arc! WHOOT! Yes, Meeting the Others is going to have plotlines!

Thanks to all my lovely loyal readers, who have given me the most reviews I've ever gotten! I love to hear y'alls feedback!

And to reply to one of the reviewers, in the first movie, it was pretty obvious Jasmine and Aladdin got married in the end. It was the sequels and TV show that retconned them into being only engaged.

And sorry to my dear readers…I don't know how this story got labeled as "Complete," 'cause I didn't do it. Maybe it was my sister or something, I dunno. All I know is that I'm not done writing it!

* * *

**Arc 1: Saving the Others**

**Episode 1

* * *

**

Tiana sat with the newer princesses, as per usual. In fact, little had actually happened in the last few weeks. Sometimes they read a particularly good fanfiction one of them had found; sometimes they discussed their villains and allies. As the meetings went by, though, Tiana started to notice they were becoming quite repetitive. It was not that she didn't like to socialize with her friends, but they simply weren't having the adventures they had in the past.

Tiana mind had started to often wander during meetings, back to her restaurant, back to Naveen and what he was doing during the day, something that had never happened before.

That is, until one of the servants made a mistake.

It was a young girl named Sarah, newly kicked out of her unloving father's home to find work. Cinderella had taken the poor girl in, hiring her as a servant and personal assistant. However, Sarah, a nervous and shy girl, was not at all confident in her new job. Unfortunately, that only made her worse. When her shaking hands opened the latch to Lucifer's cage, the sly ball of fur slipped out from between her legs. With a grin on his face, he raced off into the hallway, heading straight for the Princess's room.

"So Ariel, how was your visit to Atlantic—_Oh my goodness!" _Lucifer exploded into the room, leaping on furniture and tearing at it with his sharp claws. Squeals of surprise rang out, until Tiana saw Cinderella do quite possibly the least expected thing.

The girl swiped up a wooden chair, holding it firmly, and began swinging it at the cat.

"_Out_, Lucifer! You darn cat!" She held it up above her head, ready to fling it down. Lucifer, seeing the opportunity, used this time to take a slash at her arm, leaving a small trail of blood. Cinderella didn't seem to care, though, and jutted the chair out one more time until the cat finally cowered back out of the room and was taken away by servants. "Oh, goodness…" She frowned at the bleeding scratch on her elbow. Picking up a napkin, she quickly tied it around her arm and then let it be.

"Good job, Cindy!" Mulan called from across the room. Cinderella gave a small smile.

"Oh, it was nothing. It's just sometimes I don't know why I even keep that cat around."

"I don't think I've ever seen you that angry." Tiana said. "Or bleed."

"Oh, I used to do that all time." Cinderella replied, calmly sitting down. "It's just these days the servants usually have him under control."

"I'm surprised." Tiana shrugged, "I mean, since I'm the only one who had to _work_ her entire life to get what I—what?" Tia looked around. A good amount of the princesses where looking at her in offense, their eyebrows slightly furrowed and mouths slightly open.

"You most definitely are _not._" Ariel said, in a tone that was unusually harsh for her.

"Girls, its okay." Cinderella stated, but Tiana could tell it really wasn't. "Oh, look at the mess the cat made. Why don't we call it a day?"

The princesses left without a word to Tiana, most not even looking at her. She began to really regret that comment, but she didn't really know why they made such a big deal out of it. She headed over to _Tiana's Palace _to distract her mind with work, as she always did when troubled.

She was working on the menu, developing a particularly difficult recipe. No matter what she tried, she never seemed to perfect it. Stirring the fruit into the sauce, she just couldn't find just the right balance of sweet that would make it tangy, but not too much of a dessert type sauce to put on fish. It needed to be just right.

Growling in frustration, she was about to put down the grape she was holding when the kitchen door opening. To her surprise, Tiana looked up to see Snow White enter the kitchen.

"Look, if you're here to talk about what I said, then—"

"I just wanted to explain why everyone got upset."

Tiana sighed, putting down her spoon. "Shoot."

"Put in brown sugar."

"…What?" Tiana said.

"Put brown sugar," Snow White repeated, sitting down in front of her, "into the recipe. Its sweet, like sugar, but not too sweet. It has a different taste too it."

"That's…" Tiana mumbled, reaching toward her cabinet, "not a bad idea."

"I've been cooking since childhood." Snow stated.

Tiana looked up at her, eyes open. "You have?"

"Yes." Snow twiddled with her hair for a bit. "It's the only reason I was allowed to live with the dwarfs, really."

"Wow…I had no idea." Tiana proceeded to scoop a spoonful of brown sugar into the sauce. Picking up another spoon to taste it with, her eyes lit up. "This is great! We should cook together more often."

"I'd like that." Snow White giggled, but then frowned. "Tiana…" she gave a deep sigh, rubbing the back of her neck with her dainty hand. "Cinderella had been working all her life. Cooking, cleaning, everything, she did it for her step family. Also, she was never paid…nor did she ever have much of a chance to escape that life like you did, at least not until the ball."

Tiana paused, her hand resting on the wooden spoon she was stirring with. "I never thought about it like that."

"She's stronger than the rest of us older princesses, and we all look up to her." Snow White took the bowl from Tiana, stirring. She didn't look at the other princess, her gaze focusing on the sauce. "She's taken years of hardships, but still keeps a smile on her face. Also, she's very spirited, more than others seem to say."

"I myself grew up as a servant rather than a princess. Aurora grew up in the woods. We have all endured hardships. Now, I know you're still very special…I would have never imagined opening up a restaurant or the idea of being treated badly because of my skin color."

Tiana's eyes dropped. She tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to break their way through.

Snow White gave a small gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I probably shouldn't have brought that up…"

"It's okay." Tiana took the bowl from Snow, dipping her finger in to get a small taste. She grinned. "Mmm…this seems just about perfect!"

Snow White gave a small clap. 'Oh, how lovely!"

"Thanks for the tip, hun." Tiana said, pouring the thick liquid over the warm fish. "Y'all should come over here tomorrow; Saturday's a busy night, and I could use your expert help."

"Oh, I shall!" Snow gave her hair a quick bob before rushing out the door, her long yellow skirt flowing behind her.

That night, Tiana headed over to Cinderella's Castle. She cautiously knocked on the door, waiting for the servants to answer and lead her back to the room.

"Princess Cinderella," The butler said, nose high as always, "Princess Tiana is here to see you."

As Tiana stepped into the door, she almost gasped. There was a sight she had never seen before.

It was Cinderella, a plain working dress hanging off her body, adored only by a stained white apron. Her usually perfectly done hair was tangled and messy, tied back by a simple head band.

"H-Hello Tiana." Cindy said, rubbing her hands on her apron. "H-how are you tonight?"

"Cindy, I'm so sorry!" Tiana lunged at the girl with a hug, not caring that her dirty dress was probably getting her own messy.

"Tia, I don't care." Cinderella smiled, pushing Tiana back. "I'm fine, really. It's not a problem in the slightest."

"No its not!" Tiana cried, sighing. "I—"

"Tiana," Cinderella rested her hands on the girl's shoulders. "If I really cared, I would have said something."

"O-ok." The young princess took a deep breath.

"Sometimes I do tire of people saying I did nothing in my life, admittedly." Cinderella got back down on the floor, wetting a sponge before rubbing it on the marble. "But what must I expect when I'm trying to live up to those like you?"

Tiana tried to suppress her smile. "I'm not usually the one to be modest, but—"

"No, you're not." Cinderella stated. Tiana let it slide.

"I worked very, very hard throughout my life. But so did you. We both deserve credit."

"We all do."

"Yeah." Tiana sighed, gripping her hands together. "I actually have Snow to thank for me coming here. She's the one who talked to me about you guys. She even helped me with a recipe."

"Did she really?" Cinderella said from the floor. "That must of lit up her day. You know she thinks you are just the most amazing thing."

Tiana's eyes shot open in surprise. "She does?"

"Oh yes. She thinks you are just the greatest."

"Oh." Tiana smiled to herself. Who would have thought she would be a role model to another Disney princess…albeit a very young one.

Cinderella stood again, hugging Tiana again. "See you at the meeting next week?"

"Of course, girl!"

They laughed, saying their goodbyes.

Tiana entered the next meeting with a smile on her face. She sat down with her friends, jumping into conversation.

"Apparently the servants haven't found Lucifer yet." Pocahontas laughed, flipping back her hair. "He's still somewhere in the castle."

"Crazy!" Mulan grinned, shaking her head.

"I wonder when they'll finally find him. " Belle looked out the window. "He's just a cat, how far can he go?"

Suddenly, they got their answer.

As if on cue, Lucifer raced into the room. He leaped on Aurora's lap, scratching and ripping at her dress. Before she could swat him, however, he jumped away, this time to get buried in Ariel's hair.

The room was in chaos. Tiana looked towards Cinderella, ready to help in her action. But…she wasn't even moving. Her hand was on her mouth, shocked, cooing about what a large shame this was. Plus, there was something odd in the look of her…she looked flatter, less defined.

Finally, Mulan scooped up a broken table leg and swatted the cat out of the room. The entire room took a deep breath of relief.

"What happened?" Tiana asked Cinderella once she was able to talk again.

"What do you mean?" Cinderella stared at her with huge, innocent eyes. "Poor thing just hasn't found the right dream to lead him on a better path."

Tiana raised an eyebrow. "…Come again?"

"Well, I better alert the servants!" Cinderella rose, dancing off and humming a peppy tune.

Snow White and Tiana glanced at each other, obviously having the same thought.

_This cannot be good. _


	11. Chapter 11

YAY FOR BREAKING 100 REVIEWS! I've never gotten that before. ^^ Thank you so, so much, it has really blown me away! I'll try to make this update a little more regular, but it won't be easy. They don't call it Attention Deficit Disorder for nothing. Pus, I have been really busy with my summer camp and taking care of my little cousins.

I hope this chapter is enough to make up for the long wait.

* * *

**Arc 1: Saving the Others**

**Episode 2

* * *

**

Tiana rapidly chopped the carrots, her sleek knife _bump-bump-bump_-ing on the cutting board. Tiny slices fell over like a row of dominoes, before being swept into a pile by the large blade.

"Most of the movement is in your elbow, and you need to make sure the fingers holding the vegetable move quickly, so they don't get in the way of the knife."

Snow White nodded, large eyes wide in interest. However, her face quickly fell, her head onto plopping her palm. "You do it so fast, I'm not sure not sure I chop them like you can." She twiddled her delicate fingers.

"Don't worry honey," Tiana said, patting her shoulder. "With a little practice, you can master it!"

"You truly think so?" Snow's face lit up, her small frown spreading into a shiny grin. Tiana smiled back at the girl. Just then, she realized that this was the longest she had ever spent with an old princess. She, like all earlier Disney princesses, was dainty and light, pretty in the oldest, most traditional way. She was much more refined than Tiana, trained from birth to be polite and sweet, no matter what. So unlike the newer princesses, who often went out of their way to prove they were more rebellious and free-spirited than the others.

Still, even though they were very different, and she couldn't really admit it, well…Tiana never had any younger siblings, or siblings at all. Snow, being so young, so sweet, and someone who looked up to her so very much, she began to feel almost like a little sister.

The oven dinged, and Tiana turned to get the appetizers they made. A warm, buttery smell filled the air. She placed the heavy pan on the stove before turning back to Snow to continue their lesson.

"Hello, ladies." Naveen sauntered into the room, kissing Tiana. She grinned, only to continue talking to her fellow princess. Naveen glanced at the appetizers behind her back, gave a quick wink to Snow, and popped on in his mouth. She giggled, giving him away.

"Get away from those!" Tiana whipped him across the chest with her cooking mitt, Snow and Naveen exploding into laughter. She smiled, placing her hands on her hips. "Am I going to have to hide my food as soon as they come out of the oven?"

Snow looked up to the clock. "Oh, dear, it's getting late. I must get going!" She grabbed her bag of cooking supplies from the table. "Thank you so much for your wonderful company." She gave a little curtsy before walking out.

Tiana grinned as she left, wiping her messy hands on a towel. Naveen wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the various liquids covering her apron. "She's a sweet kid." He said. Tiana nodded.

"Still, it's a bit weird having marriage talks with a girl who has a curfew of ten o clock." Naveen threw back his head in laughter, Tiana resting her head on his chest. She sighed, fingering around with his shirt.

"I hope Cinderella has gotten better for the meeting tomorrow." Naveen looked down at her, surprised at her suddenly worried tone.

"I'm sure she is," he hugged tightly, Tiana squeezing him back. She loved holding him when she was troubled; it made her feel instantly better.

"Why don't I help you finish this dish," Naveen nodded towards the carrots, "and then we can turn in for the night?" Tiana glanced back at her chopped vegetables. They were the only thing she had actually done, and this dish required a lot more ingredients. They'd be up till midnight just preparing them.

"I'll do them tomorrow." She stated, putting away her knives. She looked back at Naveen, who had his face in an exaggeratedly shocked face, his jaw gaping open.

"Did I just hear my wife say that she'll…procrastinate?" He gasped, covering his mouth with his hands.

Tiana glared at him. "Well, if _you_ want to do it, then it can be done tonight…"

"That's okay!" Naveen held up his hands, "Tomorrow is just fine!" It was now Tiana's turn to laugh. Her husband sighed, combing back his dark curls with his fingers. "Want to listen to the radio? There's supposed to be a good drama story on tonight."

"Ooh, you know me too well." Tiana took his arm, following him to the next room. "I better remember that you know my weakness for when I actually want to work." She let the voices coming from the radio take her away from her concerns; get her involved in someone else's problems.

So much so, in fact, that she almost didn't remember what was wrong with Cinderella until she got back to the meeting the next day.

"Hello, Tiana! What a marvelous day! Has your heart told you your path for this morning?" She twirled around the room, grinning so largely Tiana feared her smile would split right open. And, was it just her, or did Cindy's hair seem a tad lighter? Tiana couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. She seemed more of a golden blonde than the dirty blonde she normally was.

Tiana gave a quick nod to her before finding her normal seat. "Has anyone found out what's wrong with Cindy yet?" she asked the others.

"Something's wrong with Cindy?" Belle asked.

"_Yes." _Was she blind? "Do you _see _the way she's acting? And—" Tiana cocked her head. "Is that a new dress?"

Belle wore a dark red and gold colonial style dress, more sensible than her older one but still just as expensive looking. Tiana had only ever seen her in her gold dress. She glanced up at her face, gasping when she saw it. It shared Cinderella's new flatter appearance, but it was even less balanced, almost sloppily formed.

"Yes, you like it?" Belle asked, "I just got it. I decided to spice up my usual system."

"Uh huh…" Tiana raised an eyebrow. "Anyway…uh…does anyone else know what's been going on?"

Mulan pondered for a bit. "Well, I think—"

"That nothing is wrong? Because nothing is." Belle interrupted, staring straight at her.

"Belle?" Mulan asked, scooting closer, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Don't bother her like this." Pocahontas snapped. Tiana gasped when she saw her. She too looked flat and under detailed. Her face was slightly uncanny, and her skirt almost seemed even shorter.

"Poca?" Jasmine asked, a look of concern in her eyes. "Are you feeling…sick?" The girl touched her friend's dull arm, "You barely have any shadows."

"I am not!" Pocahontas turned away with a huff. Belle smiled sweetly.

"Don't worry, Poca, everyone is good deep down. Even if they are being a bit rude, just be nice to them. They'll learn the error of their ways."

"That…" Tiana stood up. "Did not sound like something you would say at all!"

Belle simply turned her smile to her. "Someday, you'll see." she said. Tiana glanced at the others. They looked just as concerned as she was.

* * *

Naveen opened the door to the ballroom, wondering about what Tiana had said about Cinderella. He decided he'd ask Charming about it after the meeting, when it could be private.

The newer princes were, as usual, leaning against the columns. Naveen joined them, nodding hello to Aladdin, Shang…

"Oi, Adam, what happened to you!" Naveen exclaimed, jumping back. His face was uneven, awkward and unappealing. "John, wh—GAH!"

"Subtle, aren't you?" Shang sighed.

"My friend, I assure you there is nothing wrong with me." Adam kept calm and contained, though anger still flickered in his eyes. John smirked.

"Silly little boy." He laughed.

"Is it just me, or have you actually managed to get even cockier?" Shang balled his fists threateningly, as he always did when his rival got on his nerves. John just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you think you're so tough. It's cute, really." John tuned away, flipping his golden hair in Shang's face. Aladdin and Naveen dove forward to stop him from tackling him, his face red with fury.

"Why you little—!" Shang roared, but finally the princes managed to push him back.

"Break it up!" Aladdin demanded, sighing with annoyance, "I thought you guys abandoned this whole thing when you realized you were the only unmarried ones."

"Like that would be a good enough reason to excuse him for being a smug—"

"Shang." Naveen shook his head at him.

"Why would me being unmarried endear me to him?" John growled. "I mean, with Pocahontas married to John Rolfe—"

Naveen spun around to meet him. "Wait…who is John Rolfe!"

John Smith looked as if he had just been caught naked in the palace garden. "Uh…"

"Okay, this is getting too weird for me." Aladdin plopped on his turban. "I'm leaving."

"Me too." Shang growled.

Naveen reluctantly joined them, taking one last glance at the other princes, a shudder moving through his body.

* * *

"I just don't know." Tiana sighed as she and Naveen finished their dish. "I just…I just don't know." She collapsed onto the counter, burying her face in her hands. "First Cindy, then Belle, then Pocahontas!"

"Adam and John Smith were odd too." Naveen hugged her back. "I didn't get a chance to talk to Charming."

"I've never seen them like this." Tiana ferociously sliced through the meat, as if the meat itself was the thing infecting the princesses.

"I'm sure it's just a bug going around." Naveen kissed his wife softly. She sank into his arms. "It'll all be over soon."

"I hope you're right."

Tiana, for the first time, almost didn't want to go to the next meeting. She dreaded each passing day of the week, until finally the day rolled around.

"My dear, you don't have to go." Naveen said as he handed her the short green dress.

"Yes I do." She groaned, pulling it on. "I have to figure out what's wrong. They're my friends."

"Well, I'll pick you up on my way home from Adam's castle." He said, putting on his newsboy hat. "See you then, Tia."

Naveen didn't reach the steps of the castle before being stopped by Phillip and the Prince.

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"Don't go in there!" Phillip cried, pushing him back into his car. He leaped onto his horse, the Prince following. There was a terrible look of fear and panic on both their faces that worried Naveen a lot. He had never seen them like this. Phillip glanced back at the castle nervously, urging his horse forward.

"Come on, Naveen, we must save our wives!" The Prince cried, starting his horse too.

"Our wives are in danger?" Naveen gasped, gripping the door of the car. They were just at their meeting!

"No time to explain!" Phillip shook his head at him, his eyes wild with terror. "They will be! We must go!"

* * *

Tiana dawdled behind the butler on her way to the room, much to his annoyance. He kept his mouth shut, though, which was probably wise for a man of his status.

Tiana walked through to door.

Almost every single princess looked flat. Tiana almost couldn't breath.

"Oh, there she is!" Ariel squealed. Everyone shouted a hello. It felt like the first day Tiana ever met them, as she cautiously ran to her place with the new princesses. To her horror, though, they were no better. Mulan casually conversed with Jasmine about the importance of the heart or something, and Belle was wistfully humming with Pocahontas. None of them paid her any attention.

"What is going on!" Tiana shouted, jumping up. She looked across the room for Snow White, finding her sitting quietly next to Aurora. To her relief, they amazingly seemed unaffected.

"Shhh!" Ariel grinned. "You'll wake Melody."

Tiana spun to look at her. "…Melody?"

"My daughter, silly." Ariel grinned.

"…No." Tiana walked towards her, pointing her finger. "Melody was just a rumor. From those letters. Remember? You were horrified when someone suggested she existed." Ariel looked surprised, then annoyed, then angry. Angrier than Tiana had ever seen her.

Snow White screamed. "No! Tiana!" She raced forward to her fellow princess. Tiana hugged her, Aurora staying frozen in the corner. The only sound escaping from her were small whimpers of fear.

"You know too much." Mulan stood, taking a blade from her belt. Tiana squeezed Snow closer. The girl had tears streaming down her face, and if Tiana wasn't trying so very hard to be brave, she might have too. Her hands trembled as the sharp dagger flashed in the light. Eyes wide, she stared up at Mulan.

"Indeed she does." Jasmine reached behind her, pulling out a long leather whip, at least ten feet long.

"Y-you don't know how to use that." Tiana stammered, her breathless voice barely a whisper. They were surrounded by the princesses now, no openings in the circle.

"Oh yes I do." Jasmine held back the whip, a sinister smile forming on her lips.

"But we're y'all's friends!" Tiana never felt threatened by the others before. But now…she was beginning to fear for her life. These weren't the actual princesses. They _couldn't _be.

"Get them!" Pocahontas shrieked. Tiana spun around, praying for the slightest opening. There it was, right in between Belle and Ariel. Grabbing Snow's hand, she burst through. Taking Aurora's arm, she sprinted out of the room.

"GET THEM!" she heard Cinderella scream, and before she knew it, soldiers were flooding out of the halls after them. She ran faster, Aurora and Snow barely being able to keep up. Tiana didn't think she'd ever ran so hard in her life, at least as a human. Her breaths were dry and rasping through her lungs, and she heard Snow White's panicked cries behind her. She thanked God that they were all princesses who didn't wear the huge, puffy dresses.

She thanked Him again when she realized that they were on the first floor, and she was able to reach the front doors. However, the gate was closing! _Come on, just a little faster..._Tiana urged her already aching legs.

"We've got to dive through!" She shouted to the other two. They hesitated, but then gave a quick nod. _Just a little closer…_Tiana didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't make it.

The gate was almost closed. With one hopeful leap, they dove through the crack still left, crashing into the ground. Suddenly, Tiana heard an engine rushing up the front road. It, for the moment, was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard.

She looked up to see Naveen in their car, turning to meet them.

"Get in!" he cried. Tiana grabbed her friends hands again and yanked them into the doors. Neither of them had been in a car before, and seemed rather nervous about it.

"Trust me girls, it's a hell of a lot faster than horseback." Tiana assured them. They both gasped.

"You just..._swore._" Aurora choked out.

"And y'all are probably goin' to hear a lot more of it! Go, Naveen!"

Naveen slammed on the gas pedal, sending the car out just as the soldiers started to catch up to them.

"The Prince and Phillip are waiting in the woods." Naveen said, "We'll find them once we lose the soldiers."

Snow White hugged Tiana fearfully again, Tiana doing her best to be the strong one. She still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she had to face it. They were now on the run.


	12. Chapter 12

Ok, this is probably WAY too early, but I want to ask you guys now. When Tangled comes out, the focus will shift to Flynn and Rapunzel. It will then be in their point of view, instead of Tiana and Naveen's. There is one thing I'm wondering: should I continue with this same story, simply adding new chapters, or should I make a whole _new _story, pretty much a sequel? I'm leaning toward the latter.

Ok…I have to say something very random to all my fellow Disney fans. I'm quite glad that my main fandom is Disney. Why? Well, ever since I became a fan of shows like House, dramas and the like, I've realized how mean-spirited and all around obnoxious fans can be. Whether you don't like their ship or don't agree with their complaints (especially the former), they attack you from your social life to your intelligence. I guess I should have gotten a little taste of it with Harry Potter, but _damn. _I find that people are much more relaxed in fandoms like Disney, which is kind of funny since its probably bigger than any TV show (It being an entire company and all…) I guess it's because, with Disney, there's still a lot of innocence with it, and you pretty much always know from the start who's getting with who. It also doesn't take itself seriously enough to give room for "the intelligent interpretation" or "the intelligent pairing." (Translation: I think this way, so I'm better than you) The only real arguments are ones over CGI and 2D, and those never get too bad.

Sorry for this little tangent, but I have just gotten really tired of all the crap surrounding some of my other fandoms, and wanted to express this to those who love the ol' Dream King. So, toast to Mickey Mouse, Walt, and all the other beloved characters. You are the best fandom ever.

…Ok, here's the actual story.**

* * *

**

**Arc 1: Saving the Others**

**Episode 3

* * *

**

Tiana glanced back every so often, her breaths not slowing down.

"How do we know if they're followin' us?" She rasped to Naveen, almost wishing she could be up front with him instead of comforting Snow and Aurora. Still, she didn't want to abandon them before they found their husbands. The poor girls had the right to be terrified, to say the least. Tiana shivered slightly, remembering the gleam of the blade Mulan held, ready to attack.

She still wasn't quite sure what had happened to the girls. Why they had changed like that. It made it even more disturbing; you can't know how to fix something until you know what's actually wrong.

"They're here." Naveen said, stopping the car. The woods were at their thickest here. You couldn't see a sliver of sunlight between them. "I'll get them."

He didn't need to. The princes were already galloping down the road, towards them. They had scratches all over their arms, dripping small trails of blood. Most likely from racing through the thick branches of the trees.

"There are soldiers everywhere, looking for us." Phillip panted, not leaving his horses back. His face brightened up when he saw his wife though, as did the Prince's. "Oh, thank goodness you're all right!" he cried, reaching down to touch her outstretched hand. "Stay in Prince Naveen's auto-mob-ile…" he pondered at the word, but then shook his head, returning to the matter at hand. "It's safer in there."

Snow reached out to her own prince, clasping his fingers. "I feel so much better now." She grinned sweetly. Tiana took this as a sign that she could move to the front seat.

But when she stepped out of the car, as if by karma, things got ten times worse.

Suddenly, the roaring of an army of horse hooves rang through the silence. Tiana spun around, only to see the soldiers emerging from over the hill like an army of ants. Her breath caught in her throat, her hands shaking violently. There were still far away, but not so far that they wouldn't catch them if they didn't get going _now._

"Head toward the restaurant!" Tiana told Naveen, diving into the seat beside him.

"No!" Phillip cried, "They'll find us there!"

"What?" Tiana asked, "We have to go! They're gaining on us!"

"Get in and explain it to them!" Phillip told the Prince. "I'll take care of your horse!"

The Prince swung down, replacing Tiana in the back seat. Phillip tied his horse's reigns to his own saddle, urging his horse to run forward. Naveen followed him, doing his best to not speed up too fast. He didn't want him left to fend for himself against the soldiers.

"Phillip and I left the woods…" The Prince gasped, trying to catch his breath. "because we found a few soldiers searching it near the edge of the trees. They were talking, so we hid and listened to them. It turns out," he stroked Snow's hand, sighing; she rested her head on his shoulder, "Cinderella has told them to spread the word that we have been replaced by evil imposters. No kingdoms, not even our own, will trust us. And there are soldiers _everywhere_."

Tiana exchanged a glance with Naveen. He rubbed his face with one hand, keeping it at his mouth as he stared in front of him. Tiana wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Cry and cry and cry. Cry out of frustration, out of fear, out of sadness for her friends…cry like a nineteen year old should be able to. Could she not be the strong, feminist one for once?

"So where can we go?" Naveen asked, almost in a whisper.

"Where will it be hardest for us to get caught?"

"The woods seem like a pretty safe bet." Tiana said. "If we get deep enough and keep on movin', I reckon they probably won't be able to track us."

"Unless they use magic." Aurora pointed out.

"In that case, it doesn't matter where we go." Tiana shrugged. "The woods are still most likely the safest place."

"I won't be able to take the car." Naveen rubbed his steering wheel affectionately, almost veering it off course. "That will slow us down."

"So will gettin' attacked everywhere we go."

Naveen stuck out his lower lip. "I very much like this car."

Tiana rolled her eyes, glaring at him with her most threatening face. "Naveen, we are in a _life and death situation—_"

"Fine." Her husband whined.

"You have _plenty_ of cars."

"Not like this."

"Naveen!"

"I said fine!"

"The soldiers are still chasing us, friends." Snow White reminded them, her voice breaking a bit. Tiana was very much aware.

"How close are they?" she asked.

"Farther away, I think." Aurora answered.

"Naveen, we're goin' to have to lose them if we want to run." She looked out to check on Phillip, who was still galloping beside them. He seemed quite scared, and Tiana reminded herself to thank him for being so noble as to stay outside.

"Point taken."

Tiana glanced back out to Phillip. Poor thing. Blood was now mixed with sweat, dripping down his face.

"The forest ends at a field about a mile down." Aurora told Naveen.

"So…I could make a turn there and lose them. It'll take them a lot longer than us to turn. Tia, warn Phillip."

She did, and he nodded, somewhat exasperatedly.

Naveen gained speed as they neared the turnoff, Phillip urging the horses into a sprint. Tiana held her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. She heard the sound of the metal wheels turning. Clasping her hands together, she silently prayed they would not tip over.

Someone was listening, apparently, because they didn't. The car swerved to the side, shaking quite a bit but still staying upright. Tiana gripped her seat, not opening her eyes until the car was going strait again.

Naveen acted as fast as he could. Stopping the car, he grabbed Tiana's arm, pulling her out a little more harshly than she would have liked.

"Oph!" she fell out of the car, tripping onto the grass.

"I'm so sorry, my dear," he picked her up off the ground, holding her close, "I'm a little nervous, to say the least." He waited, quite impatiently, until the Prince got the other girls out and Phillip was decently caught up. With that, he took off into the woods at full speed.

Tiana wished she hadn't worn heals. The branches flicked and bit at her face, and she found it a struggle to keep her eyes open. Her shoes were not kind to her already aching feet, but she didn't dare take them off and find out what sharp rocks and underbrush would do to them.

Naveen kept running, ignoring the pain. He was going to get them safe if it killed him.

"Naveen! Let's get the women on the horses!" Phillip shouted. "That way, if we get caught, they can ride ahead to safety." _That's a…good idea. _Naveen thought, pausing for a moment.

"I think we can spare a few minutes." he said. "The woods are pretty deep here."

Phillip lifted Snow and Aurora onto his horse, and then Tiana onto the Prince's. It was then that Tiana realized that she had never ridden a horse before…and now her life depended on it. _Wonderful..._It was made worse by the fact that she had _no idea how. _

"Um…" She rubbed her hands together, "I don't know how to ride a horse."

The Prince glanced at Naveen. "Do you mind?"

Naveen, knowing what he was asking about, was a little bit wary of the idea. Still, his own horseback riding skills were not top notch, and he wanted Tiana to be as safe as possible. He reluctantly nodded.

The Prince swung his leg over the horse's back, taking the reins. Tiana held onto his shoulders as the horses began to walk forward.

"No one dares to go into these woods." Snow White said. "These woods are dark and dangerous at times, and the main thing connecting our kingdoms. They go on for miles"

"Really?" Tiana asked. She didn't know much about the other princess' kingdoms, especially the ones who weren't from a particular country like France or the United States.

Snow White continued. "It's a magical place, and it's always changing."

"Snow White and I lived in them." Aurora continued. "We know our way through them. Those soldiers, however, don't. And the woods are not kind to those who don't. We'll be safe here."

"This is very good news." Tiana said, feeling just a tad relieved.

Phillip squinted through the trees, towards the sky, or what little you could see of it. "I think it's getting dark, but it's not entirely clear."

"We should probably rest for the night." Naveen said. He helped Tiana slide off the horse, the other princes helping their own wives. She sighed in relief, thankful to be back on the solid ground.

As Phillip tied the horses to a nearby tree, the rest did their best creating makeshift beds on the ground. Tiana flicked off her shoes, rejoicing as she stretched her toes. They cracked and bent, pain still creeping through them. She had done way, way too much running today.

"I need to sleep." She moaned, curling up on the ground.

"What if the soldiers find us while we're sleeping?" Naveen stroked his tired wife's now extremely messy hair, the wild curls barely contained by the bun she had put them in.

"I'd be very surprised if they managed to track us down this deep in the woods." Aurora smiled softly, "They aren't magical, so they only have their own wits."

"We men should probably take turns keeping watch." Phillip said, sitting down.

Tiana perked right up, her "strong, feminist one" instinct kicking in. "Wait, why just the men?"

"Because it's chivalrous." Naveen answered, slightly confused. He leaned down close to her, so only she could hear. "Why would you oppose something that makes life safer for you?"

Tiana shrugged. "It makes me feel like…like I'm some little female you need to protect."

"My dear, I only need to protect you when you cannot protect yourself and need someone to help, just as a spouse should. You have been through a lot today, more than me. Let yourself rest." He gave her a smile; not his usual, terribly handsome one, but a sweet, gentle one only Tiana ever saw.

"I love you." Tiana whispered.

"I love you too." Naveen kissed her forehead. She laid the back of her head on his thigh, looking up at the others. His fingers continued to thumb through her hair.

"Somethin' still bothers me, though." Tiana crossed her arms. "When Mulan was about to attack us, she said we 'know too much.' Why would she say that?"

"We know that they're getting infected?" The Prince suggested.

"But…it more seemed like they had something to hide. Somethin' we weren't supposed to realize or find out. What motivation would they have to fool us if they were just gettin' infected?"

"Maybe they weren't actually infected." Phillip's eyes lit up with an epiphany. "Maybe…maybe they were replaced!"

Everyone turned to look at him, wide eyed.

"If they were replaced," Aurora's eyes lit up with fear, "then what happened to our real friends?"

"I'm not sure." Tiana looked back up at the sky. "But we have to find them. We have to save the others."


	13. Chapter 13

I have to hurry this up if I'm gonna finish by the time Tangled comes out, don't I? Sorry for the longish update, the power chord to my computer broke and I had to order a new one. Oh, computer issues, how many of my fics have died due to your tyranny. (Seriously, like 3)

* * *

**Arc 1: Saving the Others**

**Episode 4

* * *

**

Naveen breathed deeply, leaning back onto the tree. For Pete's sake, why did Tiana have to fall asleep on his leg? Pins and needles taunted it relentlessly. He wanted, no, _needed_ so badly to move and relieve it, but he couldn't disturb his wife like that. She was sleeping so peacefully, especially considering the circumstances.

Darn it, sometimes being a gentlemen was extremely annoying.

Naveen sat back up. He and Phillip were the only ones still awake. Phillip was standing, tending to the horses before he lay down.

"They shouldn't be here." he said, staring at Aurora as she slept with her golden hair sprawled out around her. Snow White and the Prince lay near her, sleeping soundly.

Naveen glanced up at him, a quizzical expression on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we should be handling this. The women should be safe."

Naveen looked back down at Tiana. As irritating as her current placement on his leg was, she did look quite beautiful sleeping there, if frazzled and dirty. Could he do this without her? With her "safe?" (was that even possible right now?) He really couldn't imagine doing anything like this without her. Even if she wasn't necessarily smarter than him (and most definitely not as educated) she kept his head on straight and focused. He needed her.

"I think you don't give them enough credit." Naveen said to Phillip, who shrugged.

"I just don't feel comfortable with them in danger like this."

"Well neither do I!"

Phillip let out a sigh and shook his head. "I just don't know. Where do we go after this?"

"The beach is a bit farther down through the woods." mumbled a soft voice from below them. They both looked down in surprise to see Aurora's bright eyes awake and staring back.

"I'm a light sleeper." She said. Naveen chuckled, but she interrupted him before he could say anything, rolling her eyes, "_Please _don't make a joke."

She sat up, brushing the grass off her skirt. "If we go longer, we'll eventually run into the ocean."

"It'll be much harder for them to follow us out there." Naveen grinned.

"But how will we _get_ out there?" Phillip pointed out. "We haven't a boat."

The Prince of Maldonia twiddled his thumbs in thought. Breathing deeply, he combed back his curls with his fingers. "I don't know. I guess no sailor would trust us now."

"Besides, where would we go once out at sea? Food would be very limited and…" He paused, placing a hand on his stomach. "Speaking of food, how are we going to eat at all?"

"Tiana made swamp gumbo once." Naveen whispered.

"Oh, great!"

"When we were frogs with considerably smaller appetites."

"Oh, great." Phillip grumbled, rubbing his hand down his face. "I guess we'll need to go hunting in the morning. I wish I had my bow and arrow."

"I wish I had my gun."

"Gun?" Aurora asked, fear in her eyes. "I've seen John Smith carry one, and I don't like it."

"Don't worry, I don't constantly carry mine around like he does." Naveen smiled reassuringly. "They're just some old rifles we kept around the palace, more for social hunting or show than any kind of combat."

"Naveen?" Tiana mumbled, pushing herself off his leg. He gave a silent prayer of thanks. "What are y'all talkin' about?"

"What we're going to do in the morning."

"Oh." She sat up, brushing her tangled curls out of her face. "Well, what have you figured out?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, that's helpful."

"Tiana…" Naveen groaned, "Can we do without sarcasm right now? It's a _bit _of a stressful time."

"Sorry." She moaned, rubbing her temples. Her head throbbed in pain. "Faldi Faldonza." she cursed, Naveen chuckling at her use of his language. "Hey, I can't swear in _English_ around them."

"Can we go back to sleep?" Aurora said, yawning. "Snow and the Prince are making me envious. Besides, we will probably think better with rest."

Naveen lay down next to Tiana. He had never slept outside as a human before, and it wasn't very comfortable. A chilly breeze blew through the woods, sending shivers down his body. Blinking, he shifted his eyes over to his wife. She lay quiet.

His eyes shut again, but not to sleep. He didn't want her to be here. Not because he thought she could handle it any less than he could, but because he didn't want her in danger. If by any chance she died and he lived, he…he wouldn't know what he would do.

Still, he didn't want to think so darkly. At least, not yet. Things in the Disney Universe work best when you have hope.

He relaxed, falling into the best sleep the circumstances allowed him.

As morning came, tiny specks of sun peeked through the trees, waking Naveen up.

"Tiana, are you awake?" He whispered to her.

"Yeah. And I'm _starving._" She groaned. Uh oh. Hungry, tired, frustrated Tiana was quite possibly the worst combination in the world.

"We must get moving." Phillip leapt from the ground, untying the horses.

It was then everyone else's turn to groan.

"Must we?" Aurora sighed, brushing her tangled hair out of her face. "I'm still so very tired."

Snow White nodded slowly. "Yes, I am too."

"I'm afraid so." Naveen help Tiana off the ground. She was exhausted too, even if she wouldn't admit it. "We might get caught If we stay in one place for too long."

The women groggily climbed onto the horses. Naveen and Phillip started to lead them through the woods.

"We shall head toward the beach." Phillip said. "Maybe we can find some mode of transportation."

Naveen nodded, somewhat distantly. "I guess."

"What about food?" The Prince naively piped. Naveen glared at him with all his might.

"_Do not mention the F word." _He threatened.

The Prince nodded quickly, eyes wide.

As they walked, the smell of the forest was slowly replaced with the smell of the sea. Naveen found it rather refreshing. It may not be a good change, but it was at least a change.

Finally, the woods started to thin. More and more sunlight peeked through the leaves, until after another hour or so of walking, the end was in sight.

"Yes!" Naveen almost shouted, before catching himself. There was no knowing who would be on that beach. It could be dangerous if they heard.

And as it turned out, it was.

"Load the ship!" called a very familiar voice. "We can't let any of the cargo escape!"

Naveen stopped the horse. "I'll look." He said.

Worry and fear grew in Tiana's eyes. "But—"

"_I'll look_." Naveen insisted, his tone hardening. As silently as he could, he followed the voice through the woods. Hiding behind a tree, he spied from around the trunk.

It was Mulan. Or, rather, the fake Mulan.

Servants of the castle were loading cages and boxes onto a huge, beautifully crafted ship. Naveen squinted to see what the cages were filled with.

"Oh no…" Inside were animal companions of all the Disney Princes and Princesses. Pocahontas's little raccoon, Cinderella's mice, even Mushu, until another Mushu jumped from fake Mulan's back and sauntered up to the glaring dragon.

"Well, lookie here. Looks like I'm the king of China now." The fake Mushu's voice didn't sound quite right, as if it was simply an imitation of the real one.

"Oh, man," Mushu fumed, his tail flicking, "When I get out of here—"

"But you ain't getting out of there." Fake Mushu grinned, "Period."

"Mushu!" Fake Mulan called to him, "Stop teasing!"

"Fine!" The dragon ran back to her, grumbling.

Naveen sighed, stepping forward. Even their animal friends were getting replaced? He was glad that Louis was safe at the restaurant…or at least he hoped that was so.

Suddenly, loud cries rang though the air. Flipping his head to the sound, he gasped at what he saw. Four servants were shouting, struggling to hold down…the magic carpet! The carpet pulled and fought, refusing to be boxed up. Naveen watched wide eyed as it tore away from its captors and zipped toward him.

"After it!" Yelled the fake Mulan. Before he knew it, the servants were running right in his direction.

He took off running, feet barely touching the ground. And then…they weren't. He was being lifted into the air by the magic carpet!

"Thank you, my friend." He said to it. It gave a little shake that he took as "you're welcome."

"Can you find the others?" He said. It wiggled again, zig-zagging through the trees until they came into sight.

Naveen leaped off the carpet, landing with a thump on the ground. "Fake Mulan is sending all the others' things out to sea!"

"They must be keeping them somewhere out there!" Phillip exclaimed.

"Yes! So I think we should follow the ship and find them."

The carpet flew in quick circles around Naveen.

"Really?" He asked. Tiana and Phillip glanced at each other, "You'll take us there? Thank you so much!"

"_How can you understand what its saying?" _They cried in unison. Naveen shrugged.

"I just can." He smiled at the carpet, but then frowned. "But…how will it hold all of us?"

There was a silence. No one wanted to speak up. Finally, Snow White sighed. "I'll stay."

"No!" Tiana grabbed her arm, "You'll get caught!"

"If it helps my friends, then so be it." She was trying so very hard to sound brave, but everyone could tell she was scared to death.

"I'll stay too." Aurora took her hand. "Neither of us are fit for combat. We'll serve better getting caught and protecting you."

"No!" Phillip gripped her shoulders, "I'm not leaving you here! What if they…if they…" he said the last two words in a whisper, "hurt you?"

"They might." Aurora said.

"But they probably won't." Snow White added, "Even if they are replacing our friends, I still feel like they are still, deep down, similar to them. They wouldn't hurt us."

Aurora kissed Phillip gently. "Please, go. Before it's too late."

Reluctantly, he followed Naveen and Tiana onto the carpet. They looked down on the Prince, who was still standing with Snow.

"Go." she whispered. He kissed her cheek, climbing onto the carpet. Finally, it rushed off toward the sea.

"Oh, Naveen." Tiana hugged his chest. "I hope they'll be okay."

Naveen hugged her back. He wanted to reassure her that they will, but he couldn't. He didn't know himself.

He looked out to the horizon, fearing what may be waiting for them on the other side.


	14. Chapter 14

Oi. A _month. _Dang. I'm so, so sorry…school, you know. It catches up to you, and you lose track of everything else.

To those who are still following this (And thank you so much for doing so, this has really blown me away!) this is not my last chapter. Next one is. HOWEVER, there _will _be a sequel—starring now Flynn and Rapunzel—once Tangled comes out. I haven't decided on a name yet, but I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Also, if you're wondering why I put a space between the ! and ?s, it's because for some reason won't let me put both at once. **

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**Arc 1: Saving the Others**

**Episode 4

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**

The carpet sped along, struggling somewhat under the weight of the four. Sea mist flew into their faces as it lowered to just above the water, hiding under the curve of the ship.

Tiana gripped her corner of the carpet. Her hair flicked around her face, and every time she pulled it back with her fingers it just blew back into it. Her eyes, however, never left the ship above them. Every second she expected some sailor to poke his head over the side and catch them.

"Tell me again why we're flyin' here?" she asked Naveen.

"I _told _you," Naveen sighed, his tired eyes sagging, "This is the ships blind spot. It's too clear a day; if we fly higher, we'll be spotted."

Tiana groaned. She was dreadfully exhausted, and in no mood to be saving anyone before she got a decent night's sleep and some food. She wanted to lie back onto the soft carpet and nap, but the rest of it was being taken up by Phillip and the Prince.

Her eyes shifted out to the horizon, the sun dancing on the rhythmic waves. There was still no sign of anywhere the princesses could be kept. They had already been out at sea for almost an hour.

Her mind wandered once again, this time to Snow White and Aurora. Where they captured yet? As much as she appreciated them, they had nowhere near the skills to defend themselves. She doubted they would be seriously hurt, but then again, the fake Mulan threatened her with a knife. Still, it could have been just a threat…

Tiana closed her eyes. How did things turn out like this? Just two days ago she was in a worried, but reasonably safe position. Now she's flying over the ocean, fearing for her life.

It's not like she hasn't been in mortal danger before. But this time…even if they weren't her friends, they still looked like them, and it was quite unsettling.

She heard Phillip give a hard but slow breath behind her. He was thinking of Aurora too. Poor dear, of course he was.

"Are you ok?" She mumbled to him. What a ridiculous question. _No_, he was not _ok_.

"I'm fine, thank you." He said, but his glistening eyes told her otherwise.

Tiana nodded softly, turning away. What was she supposed to tell him? That she "knows they'll be ok?" Thing is…Daddy told her never to lie.

But she had to give him credit. At least he was trying to hide his feelings. If she was in his shoes, if she lost Naveen like that, she'd be a blubbering mess of tears and worry right now.

"Achidanza…" Naveen whispered. She looked up to his face. His eyes were wide with shock and glee, finger pointing. Tiana followed his finger out to the shining waters.

And there it was. An island.

It was small, bleak and without a speck of visible life, not even trees. The stone prison loomed in the darkness of it, daring you, threatening you with its very existence. It looked cold, miserable, and torturous. The exact type of place that would be comparable to Hell for the average Disney Princess.

Tiana shuddered at the thought of them all trapped there.

The ship seemed to be creeping towards it at the slowest rate. Only the darkest thoughts crossed her mind of what was happening in there.

_No. _She begged herself. _Stay optimistic, like they would…_

Optimism was usually her "thing," something that kept her apart from all the naysayers in her city. But not right now. Now she could only think the worst.

Finally, the crew picked up speed, preparing to hit land. They let down the anchor just off the beach, and began to carry the cargo into their boats. The carpet slowly crept around the ship, avoiding the wandering glances of the crew. Tiana's heart thumped in her chest. Her breath caught in her throat as they all forced themselves to be as quiet as possible. If they were caught…

Once out of sight, the carpet let them all down. Naveen stared in awe at the prison towering above him.

"All this to lock up us?" He whispered. "Not too subtle, either."

"How will we get in?" Phillip studied the rough stone sides. The carpet took it upon itself to answer this question.

It flew towards the sky, up to the top of the building. It paused, swerved a bit more, and then came back down. With one of its soft tassels, the carpet pointed towards the top.

"I think it's saying there's a window up there." Tiana sighed, no longer questioning her husband's ability to communicate with it. It was helping, and that was all that mattered. Naveen thanked him, and began to climb on. The rest followed.

One by one, they climbed into the tiny window hidden on one of the tallest towers. The inside was almost completely dark, the only light the tiny beam that invaded through that opening. The Prince fumbled along the dusty, cobwebbed walls, feeling for some kind of exit.

Finally, they came to a doorway. A cascade of steps lay below them, a tiny light peeking from the bottom.

"Yes!" Phillip whispered, and, holding onto the wall, started down. The others followed, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

"Stupid brats!" A rusty voice bellowed from the direction of the light.

The rescuers stopped short.

"Who was that?" Tiana asked softly.

"I'm not sure." Naveen peeked around Phillip's shoulder. "But whoever it is, they don't sound friendly."

Cautiously, they stepped forward. Tiana winced as the stone creaked under her weight.

"Who goes d'ere?"

She grabbed her husband's hand in panic. His eyes were wide in fear, Phillip looking back at her in shock. Her breaths picked up speed as the footsteps rapidly got closer and closer.

"Lets go!" The Prince yelped, and they burst up the steps.

"Hey!" Dozens more feet were now running towards them, and a mob of armored guards burst through the doorway into all directions. Tiana screamed, tripping on one of her heels and toppling toward the ground. Before she hit, though, Naveen managed to pull her back up, gripping her to his side as he ran.

"It's the last princes and princess!" The leader cried, sprinting. His rough arm wrapped around Tiana's torso, ripping her away from her husband and off the ground. Naveen's face was raging with anger.

"Tia!" Naveen reached out, trying to save his wife, only to get caught by two guards himself. Phillip and the Prince drew their swords, doing their best to ward off the attackers. Still, they were vastly outnumbered, and soon they were disarmed and carried away.

Tiana fought against her holder, but her skinny arms were no use against his bulging muscles. He held her up, showing her his ugly face. Scars creased across it, what left of his teeth rotting and brown. His eyes were wild, almost animalistic.

"I wo'dn't do that, perty. I c'n snap ya like a twig." His eyes slowly lowered down her body. "Ya ain't like the Jasmine gal, but ya'r still perty…" His beefy fingers reached for the hem of her tattered skirt. Tiana gasped, kicking it away. He only laughed. "Feisty one." Putting her back under his arm, he led her down towards the light.

And in there, Tiana almost forgot everything. There was the thing she had needed to see.

All of her friends. Alive. Finally.

"Tiana!" The Disney Princesses and Princes were huddled in jail cells, two or three in each, but it seemed someone was missing. "Naveen! Phillip! Prince!"

The guards opened the creaky barred door, carelessly tossing Tiana inside. Belle and Cinderella were in there as well, and dove at her with a hug.

"We thought you had been killed!" Belle cried, a tear gliding down her cheek. Cinderella bobbed up and down, gripping Tiana's arm.

"I'm sorry you've been captured, but I'm so happy to see you!"

"Me too!" Tiana glanced across the cell. Suddenly, she realized who she didn't see. "Where's Mulan?" she gasped.

Belle and Cinderella looked to each other, sadness and fear falling onto their faces, before turning back.

"They locked her up in a special cell father down the jail." Belle answered "She was too much of a fighter. She almost beat off the guards in an escape attempt, so they locked her up especially well."

"Shang too."

Tiana sighed, closing her eyes. "Of course. Just to make this harder."

"Question is, how are we going to escape?" Cinderella sat back against the wall. Her dirty blonde (Tiana was quite relieved to see it that color) hair drifted into her eyes, and she made no effort to pull it back. She was still in her work clothes, Tiana realized, so she must have been captured soon after they had talked.

Tiana's eyes wandered outside of the cell. The darkened empty hallway was all that looked back at her. "Why are there no guards here at night?"

"The warden doesn't feel the need to watch us, since we never fight."

A grin spread on her face. "Well, we'll just have to change that."

* * *

"You load of—Why don't you fight like a man!"

"Why don't you, you lowly peasant!"

"Hey, what'sa goin' on here? !" barked the warden, bounding his round stomach into the room. He stomped over to one of the cells, roaring in fury when he saw what was causing the commotion. Adam and Aladdin were rolling on the ground, punching at each other and trying to grab each other's necks. Aladdin seemed to have the upper hand, pinning down Adam and wailing on him with his fists.

"Hey, hey hey!" he lumbered forward, grabbing the still punching and kicking Aladdin off of his rival. He opened the creaking rusted door just enough to pull the boy through. "Look kid, d'ere ain't gonna be any fightin' in _my _prison!"

"Point taken." Aladdin smiled coolly, nodding. "Now will you put me back?"

The guard snorted. "Attitude, eh, twerp? I'll 'ave ta tell da bosses 'bout ya…" He threw down Aladdin with a thump. He snorted again, this time sending a thick glob of spit down on him.

"Filthy lil' varmin." The warden left, slamming the door.

Silence. Then,

"Did you get the key?"

"Of course!" Aladdin spun the key ring on his fingers. "What kind of street rat would I be if I couldn't get a simple key?"

He reached through the bars, unlocking the cage. Smiling, he did the same to the others. The doors opened wide, freedom sweeping into the tired faces of their prisoners. They clamored out as fast as they could.

The princesses leaped into their prince's arms, crying and rejoicing. Everyone was smiling and laughing, high on their escape.

"Shh!" Tiana said. "They'll hear! Let's get Mulan and Shang out and hit the road!"

They all were silent in a second. Cautiously, Aladdin ran down the hall to a tiny, lonely cell. He quickly unlocked the door, slowly dragging the cumbersome metal open.

The two fighters leaned against the cold walls, cuffed to the ground with heavy iron braces. Mulan slowly edged her exhausted eyes up, her usually silky black hair now matted and untamed. Still, she managed to force out a bright smile.

"Tiana, you're safe!" She said.

"Yeah, M, and we're escapin'!" Tiana took the key from Aladdin, unlocking the braces from her friend's arms. Mulan practically fell on her with a relieved hug.

"I'm sorry, but…" She rubbed her red, chaffed wrists. "Those things just hurt so much, and I could never sleep…"

"It's okay," Tiana smiled sweetly, unlocking Shang. He looked as tired and pained as Mulan was, but seemed less inclined to show it. Instead, he immediately jumped over to help her up, supporting her with his arm. She blushed, brushing a tangle of hair behind her ear.

"Let's get out of here!" Tiana grabbed her hand, and the entire group rushed toward the stairs. They bounded up as fast as they could, abandoning all attempts to stay quiet. They just wanted, _needed, _to get out of that prison.

Naveen whistled for the carpet as soon as the tiny window was in view. It happily greeted Aladdin, who, like Naveen, for some reason could understand it.

"Great to see you too, buddy!" Aladdin dove onto it, Jasmine, Mulan and Shang following. The carpet disappeared toward the ground.

"Wait," Tiana said, "What about the other guys locked in here? Like your animal friends?"

"We'll have to save them later." Naveen sighed. "That's all I can say."

Phillip, the Prince, Pocahontas, and Cinderella climbed onto the carpet once it returned minutes later, flying down as well. After that, Eric, Ariel, John Smith, and Charming made their escape. Now only Tiana, Naveen, Belle and Adam needed to get out. They waited in anticipation for the carpet to come for them.

Then, suddenly, there was a _BOOM _down the stairs, shaking the entire floor.

"WHERE ARE MY PRISONORS! ?"

Tiana jumped in fright, gripping Naveen's arm. His breaths quickened. Belle stared up at Tiana with wide eyes.

"Naveen, get the carpet!" His wife hissed, squeezing his arm tighter.

"I can't do that right now!" He stared at the doorway, slowly moving in front of her. Adam had already done the same to Belle.

The lump of a warden came crashing up the stairs, his sound echoing through the hall. Tiana flung her head out of the window, wishing, praying, with all her might to see the carpet.

The warden was getting closer and closer…and there were more with him.

"Tia…" Belle backed up.

"I know! I know!" Tiana knuckles ached as she held onto the windowsill in worry. "CARPET!" She screamed, not caring if the warden heard or not.

He did, and only came faster. Tiana wanted to cry.

Then, finally, the carpet came into view.

She leapt onto it before it even reached the window. Naveen flipped on after her, followed by Adam. Belle reached out to safety—

"Oh no ya don't!" The warden exploded into the room and, far faster than anyone his size should be able to, wrapped his fat hands around Belle's ankle.

Belle screeched, failing to escape his grasp.

"Belle!" Adam cried, taking her hand and trying his best to retrieve her onto the carpet. Belle was suspended in the air, the hard ground far down below her. The wind blew in her hair, and she had to use all her strength to balance.

"Ya'll be a perty little prize once I get you." The warden sneered, leering at her.

That stopped Belle short.

Her face changed from fearful to scarlet red anger. Her muscles tensed. Hands tightening around Adam's, one well aimed kick with her free leg hit him square in the eye.

He bellowed in pain, letting go of her. Belle swung onto the carpet, Adam pulling her to safety.

Tiana flew her arms around her friend.

"Belle, you were amazing!"

"Thank you…" She brushed her wild hair out of her face. "Can we just leave, now?"

The carpet reached the ground shortly after. In the distance, they could still hear the guards rumbling down the building toward the ground floor.

Tiana quickly looked out to sea. "Uh, how are we going to get off this island?"

"Why, I think I have an idea." Eric stepped up behind her, turning her head to the ship that carried the cargo there, left unwatched out in the water. The crew was sleeping in the island, preparing for the next day's sail home. "Just my area of expertise, too."

"Really?" Tiana and the others followed Eric toward the ship. "You can sail this thing?"

Eric looked back at her with a smirk. "My dear, I can sail this in a storm sent from God."

And with that, they loaded onto the boat. They were going home.

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**Next whenever I get around to updating…THE GRAND FINALE! **


	15. Chapter 15

**This, finally, is the last chapter of Meeting the Others. Again, thanks so much for reading and enjoying (I hope!) and be sure to keep your eyes out for the sequel after Tangled comes out! I loved reading all your wonderful feedback and hope to get more to help improve my writing. Man, its only two months short of a year since I wrote the first chapter. To those who have kept with me all this time for my longest fic yet, extra-thanks and e-cookies!**

**Finally, I apologize again for my sporadic updating. I hope y'all don't want to kill me.

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**Arc 1: Saving the Others**

**Episode 6 (sorry for the numbering mix up last time :p)

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Naveen's hair fluttered in the wind as the ship cut through the chilled night air, sea mist hanging around him. He didn't know what time it was; probably one o'clock, maybe later. He couldn't believe everything that had happened in just one day. Still, the adventure wasn't over just yet. And he feared that this mission may just be their most difficult, and their most dangerous.

Eric sailed the ship with incredible skill. He pulled ropes, spun the wheel and shouted orders like he was born to be out at sea. Naveen didn't think he had it in him, but he was quite impressed. He himself had stepped on board, took one look at the jungle of ropes and sails, and surrendered all of that junk to those who could actually handle it.

Stars peppered the black sky above him, and dark water sloshed and swished against the wooden ship. The Prince of Maldonia had been out at sea at night before, but never on an old fashioned sailing ship. It was an entirely new experience; rustic, raw.

"Where are Aurora and Snow White?" Ariel asked suddenly from across the ship. Naveen sighed, not catching her eyes.

"We were forced to leave them. They were probably captured."

Mulan's jaw dropped. "What?"

Tiana stood beside her, shaking her head. "Look, we haven't seen any more ships, so I think we can hope that they're okay—"

"Tiana." Naveen interrupted, his face serious and stern, "They are two unarmed girls in woods surrounded by guards. There is no way they escaped."

"Excuse me," she snapped, "aren't you supposed to be the optimistic one? The fun one?"

The words cut him like a knife. Naveen gripped the rail of the ship, his head dropping. He felt Tiana's soft hands gently touch his arm, the connection sending tingles through his skin, just like they always did.

"I…" he sighed, rubbing his broad hand over his face, "I've been trying to act more like you."

"Me?" Tiana's face scrunched up in confusion. Naveen thought it was absolutely adorable. "Why me?"

"Because our friends are in danger, everyone's fighting to save us, and I feel useless. Look at Eric, he's sailing us home! Look at Aladdin, he got us our key back! They have _skills_, Tiana. I'm just a…well, spoiled little rich boy."

He knew Tiana frowned guiltily at the repeat of her own words. She gripped his arm tighter, as if trying to hold him together.

"You communicated with the carpet. You got us to the prison. Heck, you drove the car to get us away from the soldiers. Honey, we wouldn't be here without you!"

Naveen smiled, just a little. "We still haven't found Snow and Aurora…"

"Naveen," Tiana sighed, rolling her eyes slightly, "It's my job to worry about things. It's your job to hold me and tell me it'll all work out. Let's keep it that way, hm?"

Naveen chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. "Yes. Of course."

Tiana stared up at the sky, tiny lights reflecting in her eyes. "There are Ray and Evangeline." She pointed towards the brightest stars in the distance, their shine putting the others to shame. "We're going right in their direction. I guess they really are leading us home."

"Hopefully they will lead us to our missing friends."

"Yes, hopefully they will."

The moments on board ticked by slowly. The Prince and Phillip paced along the deck, their heads low. Naveen reached down to take Tiana's hand, just to make sure she was still there.

Then, a shout rang through the silence.

"We 'ave the princesses!" a grisly voice called. The Prince and Phillip's eyes lit up, their mouth opening to shout something. Mulan and Aladdin quickly covered them, shaking their heads quickly. Naveen peeked over the rail of the ship.

Underneath them, two sailors held what were clearly a disheveled Aurora and Snow by their arms. A gasp escaped Naveen's lips. The stature of the men made the girls they held look like tiny dolls, their face sneering and arms holding muscles that dwarfed even Shang's.

"Call out!" Phillip hissed though Aladdin's hand. "Get them!"

"No." Tiana joined Naveen in looking over towards the men. "The only reason they're telling us this is that they think we're the soldiers with the fake princesses. We need to keep it that way!"

"Ya! Of course!" Adam bellowed, imitating the accent of the sailors, "Bring dem up at once!"

Tiana threw the rope down. At once, the men began to climb up, the two girls in tow. Without a sound, the Disney Princesses and Princes hid, waiting for them to surface.

The sailors landed on the wood with a _thump. _

"Hey, what's the big idea?" one roared when he saw the empty deck.

Faster than Naveen could even hope of moving, Shang and Aladdin leaped into the air, ramming strait into the screaming sailors. Shang swung his leg, hitting his opponent square in the mouth and taking the time to pin him to the ground. Aladdin did the same, squishing the man against the floor with his bare foot. The sailors threw back their arms, but their skilled holders dodged their blows. Shang gripped the man's neck, his captive gasping in surprise and fear. The soldier didn't strangle him, though, only held him at a painful angle, his foot pressing into the man's stomach. Aladdin similarly held his man, foot pressing into his face and sitting right down on his back.

"Technique," Shang grinned triumphantly, drawing his sword and holding it at his opponent's neck, "defeats strength any day."

The girls, free from their captives, raced strait towards their husband's arms, each giving a cry of joy.

"W—Wait…royals?" one of the sailors stammered, "Ya'r—are the fake ones that…"

"Wrong, bucko." Tiana smirked, leaning against the mast. "We're the real ones. Ya'll are workin' for the fake ones."

"Ya'r lyin'!"

"No, my friend, she is not." Eric slid down from to their level of the deck. "It's true!"

"BULL!" he barked, struggling against Shang's grip.

"Look, all we need to know is where the people y'all are workin' for are." Tiana snapped. "We need to save our kingdoms."

"They's at Cinderella's Castle, da lasses," the man under Aladdin groaned. "Da lads are at Beast's, of course."

"My name is Adam."

"Like I care, ya prissy."

Adam growled, his hands curling into fists. "Throw him under the deck. We have work to do."

* * *

The sun was just peeking over the horizon by the time Cinderella's castle was visible. They left the sailors trapped in the cabin, ready to release them as soon as they reclaimed their kingdoms.

The castle toward above them, windows sparkling in the faint sunlight. Naveen noticed a glistening tear form in Cinderella's eye; the tear of a very homesick young woman.

"We'll get back it soon." he whispered to her. A tiny smile hinted on her lips.

"What's the plan?" Jasmine asked Mulan and Shang.

"We're vastly outnumbered." The soldier girl responded, "They have all of the castle guards under their command."

"So," Shang continued, "This needs to be a stealth mission."

"Then, when we're inside, we make sure they are cut off from any way of alerting the guards, get them out, take their place, call off the search for us, and pretend this whole thing never happened."

"Are you sure that will work?" John Smith questioned, his face twisted into a look of doubt.

"I'm sorry John, do you have a _better _plan?" Shang shot a glare at his rival.

"No…" Smith admitted, "But—"

"_Then don't talk!_"

Mulan sighed, patting Shang's shoulder. "We need to get moving. We're running out of time. Which of us is athletic enough to lead?"

"Definitely you, Shang, Aladdin, Pocahontas and John Smith." Naveen stated.

"Aladdin is a thief. He's a master in keeping quiet. He should lead." she decided. Shang agreed. "Pocahontas and I will follow. Shang and John are more muscle, so they should come in after us."

"Thank goodness we have you to plan all this military stuff. I'd be totally lost." Tiana said, bewildered. The others nodded.

Mulan smiled. "Always here to help."

Aladdin leapt through the air, grabbing handhold after handhold to climb until he reached the thin windowsill. He heaved himself up, all without making a single sound. The thief slipped into a window, Mulan and Pocahontas silently following.

_Thump! Bump! BAM! _Aladdin stuck his smiling head out the window. "It's clear!" He threw down a tattered rope.

The Princes and Princesses worked up the rope. Some struggled, Snow White barely able to climb up the first knot. She finally slipped, tumbling to the ground with a small cry. Tiana flipped her head around, barely able to muffle her own cry at seeing her collapsed in pain,

"Just go in without me," she told them, her voice weak, "I can't fight, anyway."

Tiana gasped. "But what if—"

"Go. I'll be fine."

For a second time, Tiana left her almost-little sister to fend for herself. Naveen could see her scolding herself in her eyes as she regretfully continued to climb the rope.

They stepped into the castle, sliding along the hallways. Guards stalked about, the large group barely able to escape their stares. Aladdin kept ahead, using his keen eye to search for anyone with a sword. Then, finally, they found the room. The pearly white doors were almost bittersweetly familiar.

Giggles sounded from inside. Mulan clenched her fists.

"I can't believe they have taken our places so easily." she mumbled, her voice dark and angered.

Shang gave her a small smirk. "We'll have to fix that, then!" With a grin on her face, Mulan exploded through the door, the others not far behind her.

The fake princess' screams shot through as the room was engulfed in chaos. Mulan leapt in to take on her own double, Shang behind her. She threw a passionate punch, but the fake simply flipped out of the way, shoving her foot right on Mulan's stomach. The soldier gripped her abdomen in pain, but Shang took her hand, guiding her onto her feet. Fire burning in her eyes, she dodged her double's next blow and, jumping into the air, kicked her square in the jaw before landing and pinning her down.

Jasmine was immediately attacked by her double. She danced from side to side, frantically dodging the snaps of the whip. Aladdin dove in, wrapping the leather rope around his hand and yanking the woman to the ground, finishing by tying her up with her own weapon.

Cinderella quickly overtook her fake when the girl tripped over the poofy blue dress she wore. Cindy sighed contently, brushing off her filthy short rags.

And so the battles raged on, Tiana and Naveen fighting alongside their friends until each one of the fakes was conquered.

"Now to dispove of—"

"GUARDS!" shrieked the Cinderella double, held down by Charming, "HEEEEELP!"

Countless footsteps thundered through the halls. The meeting room was dead silent, the fake Cinderella giving a smug smile. Tension hung in the air like a heavy fog.

The guards roared as they burst through the door, ready to kill anyone who threatened their princesses. Mulan half-heartedly took a fighting stance, but everyone knew that even she couldn't fight off all of them. Cinderella, thinking fast, raised her voice above the crowd.

"STOP!" she shouted, "Why did you come here? I did not call you!"

"Yes, _I _did! I'm the real Cinderella!" her double cried, "Get them!"

"No, she lies!" Pocahontas stepped forward, "She's an imposter!"

"NO!" Fake Pocahontas shrieked, clawing at Poca's legs, "We're the real ones!"

The guard's mouths hung open, staring at them in shock and confusion. The commander scratched his head, glancing from princess to princess. "Uh…" he said bemusedly, "W-which one do we listen to?"

"US!" everyone shouted together.

Then, as if by the hand of fate, a very familiar girl walked behind the commotion.

"SARAH!" Cinderella shouted, pointing at her.

Sarah looked up attentively, her jaw dropping at the sight she saw.

"Two weeks ago," Cinderella breathed, "you accidently let Lucifer out, did you not?"

"Yes, 'm." Sarah nodded.

"And I…"

"Fought him off—"

"With a table leg. Did I not?"

"You did indeed, madame."

"Now I believe," Cinderella mirrored her double's former smug grin right back at her, "If she truly was the real Cinderella, she could tell me who cleaned up that night, couldn't she?"

"Ummm…the…mice?" the double's eyes filled with fear, wide and trembling as they stared up at the true princess.

"No," a soldier cocked his head quizzically, "you did. And we thought you were amazing for doing it."

"Yes!" Tiana reached forward, holding up Cinderella's arm, "Because this is the real Cinderella! If _that_ was the real Cinderella, she would know that bit of information! That is a fake! And her," she pointed at each of the doubles, "And her and her, and…well, I think you get the point. Now, SEIZE THEM!"

The guards picked up the fakes, tying up their hands despite their best fighting efforts.

"NO!" Ariel screamed, kicking a wriggling in her captor's grip, "I can't go to jail! I have a daughter!"

"You'll be much better where you're going." the true Ariel told her with a pleasant smile. Her double replied with only a glare.

"Please, have mercy!" fake Cinderella sobbed, "I know I don't deserve it, but—"

"We'll give you all the mercy we see fit." Pocahontas shut the door when they were all dragged out.

The princesses and princes stood in silence for a moment, breathing heavily. Then:

"YEEES!"

Their cheers echoed through the castle, everyone dancing in celebration. Snow White joined them only minutes later, she and Tiana engulfed in a tearful embrace. Cinderella was held high into the air, the hero of this journey.

Suddenly, a warm hand touched Naveen shoulder.

"Honey, let's go home." Tiana smiled sweetly, "I have a restaurant that needs takin' care of."

* * *

Naveen stood on the balcony of Tiana's Palace, overlooking the sparking New Orleans night. The air was brisk, but not quite cold, as would be expected in Louisiana. He twirled a cool glass of champagne in his hand, thanking the universe that he was back in his own, comfortable home.

The guards had immediately set to work on fixing the damage then sent half of their troops to tell the kingdoms of the story, the other half to find and capture the prince doubles. He was quite impressed with their efficiency.

Tiana strolled up beside him, wrapped in a soft shawl. She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply.

"This is so much better than running around those God-forsaken woods."

"You think so?" Naveen chucked, "because I was thinking of camping for our next vacation…"

"Naveen, don't even _joke _about that."

Naveen laughed again, pressing his lips to her temple. "No, I think I want to stay here for a while anyway."

"You got that right." Tiana grinned, "I don't need any more traveling for quite some time."

"What _did _they do with the fakes?"

"We're not sure yet. We think they may just have been frustrated with their condition in life; apparently, they were created for the purpose of being cheap imitations of us. We're trying to find a good home for them. Perhaps…perhaps not even in this universe."

"If not here, then…where?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, for the mean time," Naveen took her arm, leading her down the stairs of the restaurant, "What do you say we get some much needed sleep in a nice, warm and comfortable bed?"

"You read my mind."

* * *

**The End**

**Tune in after Tangled comes out to read the sequel! **


	16. Sequel Announcement

This isn't a new chapter, however, just an announcement: the sequel to Meeting The Others has finally been published! Yeah, finally, I know. Hopefully y'all are still around to read it! Eugene is the star of the first chapter, and we get to see him meet all the princes we know and love. So, get ready for some new adventures!


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